The Return of What If
by Meridian1
Summary: The sequel to What If...? I know it wasn't mandated, but give it shot...and read What If? first...


The Return of What if... 

Disclaimer: Okay, listen, I'm just going to say this once: NONE OF THE CHARACTERS YOU RECOGNIZE ARE MINE. If you have heard of them before this story, or the What if..? story, then they belong to either Warner Bros. or the Wachowskis. I am not making any money off of this, and no one gave me any sort of permission to write this. Please, I beg of you, don't sue me. 

*********************************************************************** 

PROLOG 

Things were not going well. Agent Brown listened to his earpiece. Another agent program had been destroyed. The Matrix had orders for him to open the another set of programs to throw at Mr. Anderson. The order came for him to open the special reserve file. 

That was not a good sign. The reserved agent file was the most radical group of programs the Matrix had ever created. These agents were atypical in every way. Agent Brown activated the file. A moment later, a set of four of the new agents appeared in the hallway. Save for the sunglasses, none of them could possibly be identified as agents. The two men and two women standing in the hall regarded Agent Brown with an emotion akin to contempt. 

"Take a look at the narc," one of the women laughed. Her bangles shook on her arms as she laughed. This was the program the Matrix had identified as the leader of this pack. Agent Brown took in her image to store it as a friendly file. She was dressed in a dark gray sleeveless catsuit that zipped open to the waist. It had a halter-top that ended at the base of her neck.. She wore knee-high black army boots and black leather gloves. She wore silver bangle bracelets, a silver choker, and a pair of silver hoop earrings. 

"Agent program designate?" Agent Brown asked. 

"Agent designate? Sorry, pal, that's too old school. I don't have an agent designate. I am called Juneau." Her companions coughed and awaited to be introduced themselves. Juneau laughed. "Sorry, allow me to introduce the other members of the Reserved File All-Stars." 

"This is Paris," Juneau rested her hand on the shoulder of one of the male programs. He wore khaki slacks, a white T-shirt, and a blue flannel. His hair was sandy brown and falling in his face. His appearance was much more subdued than Juneau's, but his green eyes betrayed a wild streak. 

"And let's not forget Albany, but you can call him Al," Juneau leaned on the other male program. He wore a grey T-shirt with cut off sleeves, sweat pants, and sneakers. He looked like he had just been pulled from a basketball game. Al gave Agent Brown a feral grin and nodded as he was introduced. 

"Last, but most certainly not least, we have Cairo." The last program winked at Agent Brown. She wore another skin-tight outfit, short, almost non-existent, navy shorts with a blue leather jacket over a ribbed turtleneck. She wore thigh-high, blue leather, high-heeled boots. Cairo flipped her shoulder-length blond hair and laughed. Where Juneau's jewelry was silver, hers was gold, only she wore fewer bracelets. Cairo sauntered over to Agent Brown and tugged at his tie clip. 

"He can't be all bad, Juneau. He's wearing the latest in tie fashions." All four of the programs laughed while Agent Brown stood his ground. Cairo tsked at him. "Aw, I think I hurt somebody's feelings. I'm sorry, big guy." Cairo gave Agent Brown a kiss. "That better? No? Oh dear, what ever am I going to do? If I can't even make this guy's hair flip...?" The programs laughed again. Agent Brown waited until they had finished before he tried to continue. 

"You are here for a purpose. If you are going to be insubordinate, you will be erased. Understand?" 

"Sure, boss man, we got it." Juneau rolled her eyes. "We have to take care of a few human worms, no problem. It's about time you got to us." Juneau turned to her crew. 

"Who wants the honor of killing the first human?" Juneau roared with laughter at all the hands that went up. 

**************************************************************************** 

Part 1: Getting Started 

If someone were to ask how she was feeling at this moment, Trinity wouldn't have said "happy". Normal was the first word that came to her mind. Sure, bliss was behind this normality, but, after all, now was the most common moment of her life ever since she had been freed. This wasn't an activity that was reserved to the select few who knew the truth; this time, these emotions were universal, even in the faux reality of the Matrix. 

Neo was beside her, breathing evenly, deep in sleep. He didn't need sleep, he had told her so himself, but old habits were hard to break. It gave her an opportunity to study his features while he was unawares. He was beautiful. It made her feel truly lucky to be in this moment. Leaning against her propped elbow, Trinity gazed at him with all the hopeless love for him that she had. Only in these rare moments could she be so exposed. On the outside, she played the stoic and austere leader. Here, she could just be a woman. 

And appreciate it too, she mused. A smirk crawled over her lips as she thought about the past few hours. Real or not, being with Neo was worth every risk. Every time she would come to see him they'd end up here, the building where so much had happened. He had realized he was the One here, she had been freed moments before dying here, and this was where his odyssey into the real world had begun all those months ago. It was definitely a karmic location for them. As he didn't have elsewhere to go, the old walls made a perfect home. It might have been a security risk, but he had figured, correctly, otherwise. Neo had suggested that the agents wouldn't return to search this place after having destroyed it once. So far, he was right. The agents assumed that they wouldn't be dense enough to return to such a 'hot' location, and their oversight allowed numerous people to come and go without harassment. 

Neo stirred next to her, drawing her attention away from the past and back into the moment. Although she fought it every time they made love, a creeping feeling of melancholy seeped into her thoughts. Neo was the One, and yet for all his advantages and privileges, he lacked the most basic ability that all humans possessed. He couldn't feel anything. Without a body to receive the signals of pain, cold, pressure, or heat, Neo couldn't detect any sensations. 

That was what made their short time together so enjoyable to them both. With her, he could feel things. As is evident by his active participation in this sport, she giggled in silent. Neither of them could explain how it was possible, but there was no reason to question the small favor. Neo had felt her before, when she was dying. She had asked him to kiss her, and when he did, he said that he was able to taste her blood. Why she should be so lucky, she had no idea, but again, questions only ruined the unique nature of this...well, miracle. 

Brushing a few errant strands from his face, Trinity leaned over and kissed him. To her surprise, his arm suddenly shot out to press her closer. She pulled back in surprise after a moment. He opened his eyes and grinned at her. 

"Mmm, not a bad way to wake up." Trinity blushed. She was never bashful about talking, thinking about, or having sex, save for when Neo made a stupid joke about it. Somehow, he always managed to push the right buttons to make her flush. He ran his hand along the small of her back, smiling even more at her embarrassment. 

"I can't stay very much longer, you know that. I just hope Tripps did what he promised and turned the monitors off." 

"Why? Does it matter?" 

"No, not unless you have a problem with voyeurists, which I do, thank you very much." She poked him square in the chest to emphasize her point. He laughed and knocked her off her elbow to flip her onto her back. He hugged her so that she couldn't move her arms. He kissed her neck. 

"I'm sure he's too scared of you to disobey those orders. You are the big bad Trinity after all," he whispered in her ear. She smiled and pried his arms apart. Leaving him with a kiss, she got up to retrieve her clothes. Five minutes later, she had finished dressing and returned with an accusing look on her face. 

"Next time, do you think you could not throw my pants into the next room? It would make this part go a whole lot quicker." He laughed and sat up in the bed, leaning against the headboard. 

"Where would the fun be in that? I don't want you to leave any sooner than you have to." Trinity leaned over and sat on his lap. Stroking his face, she had to sigh as she knew that she would have to leave. 

"I know, I don't either, but duty calls. Maybe you could give me an exit to remember, hmm?" It was her turn to grin and his to flush slightly. 

"Sure, but I only do this for my favorites, okay?" They shared a smile. "I love you." Wrapping his arms around her, Neo kissed Trinity deeply. In another second, she was gone, but not before whispering... 

"Love you back." 

*********************************************************************** 

"What's our first move, Juneau?" Albany crossed his arms. His program gave him an impetuous side, but it usually just came out as impatience. Juneau rolled her eyes. It was time like this that she was almost sorry she had been given the ability to have emotions. Al was getting on her nerves. 

"Some guy, I think it was Zen or something, said 'Know thy enemy'." Cairo piped in. She spoke softly, as always, but since she never spoke unless absolutely necessary, everyone listened. Juneau smiled. 

"Excellent, Cai. What did you have in mind? Or do you have something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Cairo returned Juneau's smile and produced a mini disk from her jacket. The table was equipped to load the information, and Cairo popped the door to the drive and stuck the disk in. A picture of a man in his late twenties to early thirties was projected out towards the silk screen on the far wall. 

"Neo, Anderson, Thomas A. So what?" Paris sneered at the picture. All of them could easily pull this information from their memory files. Cairo returned his ugly look. 

"She's getting to that, you turkey, so shut your trap." Juneau glared at Paris until he grew appropriately sedate. She motioned for Cairo to continue. 

"The other agent programs have been unable to defeat him. Where once it was true that no human could face an agent and live, it is now a fact that no agent can face this human and evade erasure. He possesses an invulnerability that not even agents can claim. He is not merely able to comeback from the dead, as agents do, he just can not die. Not one attempt to erase his RSI from the Matrix has succeeded, no one has been able to detain him against his will, and no weapons of this reality can hurt him." 

"Again, so what? We all know this. Juneau, we're wasting time. We should forget this Neo guy and go for the easy kills. Without connections, this guy is a glitch, a pain in the ass, sure, but harmless." 

"I disagree," Juneau growled. "This human can take out agents, that makes him dangerous. He could just keep waking these guinea rats up. Remember, there are six billion people alive, and according to our estimates, about twenty percent of them would believe and accept his story. They would follow him. Twenty percent of six billion is a hell of a lot more than the total number of agent programs that have ever existed. They outnumber us, millions to one. Need I remind you it is up to us four to finish this? Now, if you have nothing to contribute, shut up, and let Cairo show you just how much of an ass you are. Cairo?" 

"Our enemy has his weaknesses, though. They have been attacked in the past. Agents have tried everything to break this one, but none of them have succeeded, and I know why." 

"Please, by all means, share." 

"Every time an agent has offered Anderson anything, it has been something that was not feasible at the time. Agents have offered to restore his ability to feel, to erase his memories so he can live a normal life, and to allow his friends to live, provided he stop this mad quest. None of these offers are worth my spit. Look at these reports," Cairo slid the hard copies of her research across the table." 

"This is the documentation of all the programs that have been run against this man's RSI. Read them, if you like, the list goes on and on. Viruses, scan programs, everything has been done to remove his code from the Matrix, and none of it has worked. Anderson is not stupid. He knows this; he knows exactly how many times we must have failed by now. So when an agent shows up offering to alter his reality, he knows that it isn't possible. If you can't wipe the data, you can't change it. His RSI is untouchable in every way. He calls the bluff before it's ever made. That is why no agent had been able to deal with him." 

"That's fascinating, Cai, it really is. Now, Juneau, now that I've listened to the whole report, can I ask what the fuck any of this does to help us get rid of him and the others?" Albany crossed his arms. Juneau glared at him, but her anger didn't sway his obstinacy. She sighed and gave Cairo a helpless look. 

"Okay, Cai, I get why this is an important revelation, but how does it help us?" 

"It gives us an idea of how to deal with this Anderson. We need to offer him something tangible. I have the sentinels working on a plan on the outside that may prove rather fruitful. Provided, of course, that my assumption is correct. Until such time as I receive confirmation from the outside, I suggest that we do as Paris says, and concentrate on eliminating those humans who are not invincible." 

"Agreed, and I'll expect a full explanation of your plans as soon as you receive such news. Now, on the subject of the expendable human fighters," Juneau nodded to Albany, who punched up a new file. "This is a list that has just been sent our way. It has a complete outline of every human we believe to still be alive on the outside. Unfortunately, we can not know the percent accuracy of this estimate. The humans have been exceptionally paranoid about traitors since the destruction of their pitiful city. I don't need to tell you why that is either. The list stands at thirty persons, and each of us will be assigned several to follow. However, there is this listing of missing persons, which totals about fourteen, whose death has yet to be positively confirmed. Anderson is not on either of these lists, so we can split them up evenly, eleven suspects to each of us. As you would expect, I have given myself and Cairo a majority of male suspects, and you, Albany, and Paris will handle most of the females. I believe everyone knows the reason for this decision. Any questions?" 

"Yeah, June, what do we do when we encounter our targets? Do we take them out straight away?" 

"No, that would be counterproductive. If anything, get as friendly as you can with your targets. Our programs are designed to encourage their trust. If we can make the outsiders trust us, they will try and involve us in their pathetic war. Eventually, one of us will be brought to meet a large number of them, and then, and only then, do you terminate. Even if you don't kill all of them, you will put them on edge. They will have to be twice as cautious when interviewing their 'candidates'. The extra time they spend on that will not only slow down their ability to replenish their numbers, but it should also allow us to discover their candidates before they can release them. It's much easier to kill off the remaining humans once they have no way to recruit new members. Fewer people will be left, and then none will be." 

"Not bad, but what about this Anderson guy? Couldn't he tell? There have been agents that haven't been as obvious as Brown, and he's gotten rid of them, too." Cairo furrowed her brow slightly. Juneau nodded and continued. 

"We'll have to wait and see. I don't have an answer on that yet. This is the plan as it stands. Any objections?" The others all shook their heads. 

"Excellent. Let's get started." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Hey, Trin." Tripps sauntered into the mess hall. Trinity was reviewing candidates on a minicomputer while she ate her breakfast. "No rest for the weary, huh? Is that so important that you've got to do it now?" 

"I had my break this morning. I do have to get some work done. It can't all be play." 

"Play? You? Trin, I got to tell you, you are the only person who writes off conjugal visits as part of your break time. You think Jolz or I do that? Forget it. When my girlfriend and I get a moment alone, that's what it is. It may be personal time, but there's no way in hell I can spare my breaks to sleep with her. That's what sleep breaks are for." Trinity gave him a miffed smile. 

"What are you saying, exactly? Is there a point to this?" 

"Yeah, I'm captain, and I'm telling you, this isn't the military. No one gets designated 'breaks'. You get shifts, hell yeah, but not breaks. When your not scheduled for a shift, your time is your own. It's not like because you had fun this morning that you can't take time to enjoy your breakfast, too." 

"Who says it was only this morning?" Trinity's smile took on a feral quality. Tripps chuckled and shook his head. 

"I should have guessed. Okay, then, since we're talking business, what does Neo think about these targets?" 

"He's impressed by how young most of them are. I am too, but I guess it has to do with the times. This is a cyber-age in the Matrix. Kids know at thirteen how to do things I didn't even hear about until I was twenty. The youth aspect of it is generally a plus, it means they will be more likely to accept the truth. They are still young enough to suspend disbelief. However, they are also at a disadvantage, maturity-wise. He says go for it, and I agree. Wake up a manageable number of these kids and throw in a few older hackers to balance them out. What do you say?" 

"Well, here's what we have, inventory-wise. We have seven operable ships, all of which are understaffed. Half our people are busy restoring Zion and building up its defenses. There are about twenty ships that are either empty and awaiting crews or in need of minor repairs, and ten more ships that are real fixer-uppers. I figure, if we spread out our experienced crewmembers, a few to each ship, after the new recruits get broken in, we'll be back at about half strength in another six months. That is if we go with what you and Neo have in mind." 

"Great, then here's what I'm going to do. You are going to get me my own ship, and I'm taking Natalie with me. We'll grab the first of the new members, keep a few, but transfer most of them, with training, onto other ships. What do you say?" 

"I say pass the grub. You've got a deal, you knew would have one before you asked. Now," he grabbed the minicomputer from her, "will you please just relax? Why don't you go back after breakfast, meet up with Neo and start on the first of the names?" 

"You took the list from me." She stared down at his hand, which was still covering the minicomputer. 

"I know you've memorized everything on at least the first five names. Finish your breakfast and scoot." Trinity grinned and worked on finishing her meal. In record time, she had the bowl emptied and was on her way to have Jolz set her up. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Back so soon?" Neo watched as Trinity materialized in the room. He was working at one of the computer terminals. 

"You talking to one of them?" He nodded as he moved aside for her to see. She recognized the alias. It had been the first name on the list. So she wasn't the only one who had memorized the candidates. The name was 'Patch'. From memory, she knew this was a seventeen year-old girl who was currently residing in an orphanage. That was part of the reason her skills were so impressive. Given the lack of funding to public institutions, the fact that this girl could navigate cyberspace so well was encouraging. Her record at the orphanage identified her as a troublemaker. She was a perfect candidate. 

Trinity watched the conversation continue from behind Neo's shoulder. 

[You're pretty good, you got here, didn't you? What brings you to my board?] 

[I'm interested in you, actually.] 

[Why? What do I have that is so fascinating?] 

[It's not what you have, it's what you know, Patch.] 

[I know lots of things. Could you be more specific?] 

[You know about the Matrix...] 

[Maybe...who's asking?] 

[You'll find out. My associate will find you.] 

[Associate? What are you, a Mafia don?] 

[Do you know what I'm talking about?] 

[You could say that I do.] 

[Then expect my contact to find you.] 

[How will I recognize him?] 

[She'll find you.] 

[Who are you...] CONNECTION TERMINATED 

"She'll find you? You mean I'm going after this one?" Neo nodded. "What makes you think I'll do a crazy thing like that?" Neo smiled and stood up. He turned around and encircled her waist. He nuzzled her neck as her arms snaked around his back. Her breath came in shorter and shorter gasps. 

"Oh." 

*********************************************************************** 

Part 2: Progression 

"Hello, Patch." The teenager killing time on the bench looked up at the name. The sizing up began. Trinity waited for the girl to either approve or disapprove. Having been so recently indoctrinated, again, into the Matrix, Trinity felt an unusual amount of sympathy for this girl's confusion. Not that she let it show. While Patch was recovering, Trinity analyzed her RSI. The girl had dark green hair that was somehow very fetching on her, a rarity for that particular color. The forest green locks shook as Patch scratched her head in confusion. She regarded Trinity with curious hazel-yellow eyes. The nose ring completed the 'tough girl' look that Patch was obviously emulating. 

"I assume you're the contact? You don't strike me as a whistle-blower. Who are you?" 

"I am called Trinity." A look of respect crept into Patch's face as she straightened slightly. 

"The Trinity? Oh my God! Wow, really? I never thought I'd actually get to meet...this is so cool!" Patch seized Trinity's hand and pumped it vigorously. Trinity shook Patch's hand but didn't make any other move to be friendlier. 

"Was that you on my computer?" 

"No, that was my associate, Neo. He sent me to see you." Patch didn't seem impressed. 

"Neo? Never heard of him. He said he knew stuff about me, though. How does he know I know about the Matrix?" 

"It depends. What you think you know may not have anything to do with the Matrix. What do you think you know about it?" Patch took in a deep breath and started quietly. 

"I know that it's some sort of special interest that has its hands in every cookie jar on this planet. I've seen some people, friends of mine, say something about it without covering their tracks, and then they just disappear. It's like whomever runs it can make people just vanish, and they do it so that no one asks questions. I can't explain it, but I know what it is when I meet it. You are not it." 

"Correct." 

"And I know it's responsible for this world. It runs it somehow. I also have a pretty good idea that you are free of it." When Trinity nodded, Patch's voice picked up an excited tone. "I want out of this, out of anything that has to do with my world. I hate this place, and I hate the shit I have to put up with because I'm a fucking ward-of-the-state. Can you help me?" 

"It depends," Trinity started as she drew out the pillbox. Patch watched her every move. The pillbox rested open on Trinity's palm, facing Patch. "If you take the red pill, I promise, you will be out of the Matrix, but you may like the place you'll end up even less. It is not a friendly world out there, outside the Matrix, and that is what the blue one is for. The blue one will put you to sleep. You'll wake up and believe this to be a dream, but you will never have to see that other place. It's your decision, and I will make no promises, save one. You will know the truth, all of it, if you take the red one." 

"You could have saved yourself the speech." Patch reached for the red pill. "All you had to say was which one gets me out." 

"I have to warn you, just so you don't think I tricked you," Trinity's throat closed on the last words. Cypher had said that; he said that Morpheus had tricked them. No, she told herself, don't dwell on him. He's dead, and he can't hurt you any more. He can only hurt you if you think about him. 

"Hey, at this point, I don't give a fuck. Just get me the hell out of that hole in the wall they have the gall to call an orphanage. Let's go now," Patch swallowed the pill. Trinity nodded and motioned for Patch to follow. In record time, they reached the building where Neo waited to help Patch exit. 

*********************************************************************** 

Cairo watched Trinity approach the building from the roof across the street. This old bed and breakfast was in sorry shape. It was perfect for these outsiders, who needed to come and go without attracting the attention of other boarders. Her notes said that this place had been cleared of the equipment it had once held. 

"Clever," she purred. The humans knew the agents would assume that no one would use the building after it had been exposed. They could use the building unharmed because of the agents' oversight. Cairo made sure to note this for her report to Juneau. 

Neo met Trinity at the door, and he, Trinity, and girl Cairo didn't recognize all went inside. Cairo took her notes and waited. If anyone left that building, she'd know. Setting up her equipment, she focused on searching for 'exit' signals. If Anderson and Trinity were helping this human escape, the computer would tell her. 

She didn't have to wait long. 

*********************************************************************** 

"I'm ready over here," Neo called. Trinity nodded and finished setting Patch up in the chair. While Patch amused herself with the mirror, Trinity checked the tracking device. Neo watched in amusement as Patch played out the exact same motions he had made when Morpheus had freed him. He stood by to keep her from panicking when the mirror 'slime', as he thought of it, started to snake its way all over her body. 

"It's all right, Patch. You're going to be fine." Looking over at Trinity, he got her confirmation, via nod, that the tracking was almost done. 

"What...what is it doing? I...I don't think I can take this..." Patch's voice was whiny with fear. She tried to reach for Neo's hand for support. 

"We've got her. Tripps? Signal, now!" Trinity screamed into her cell phone. Patch looked at Neo in the second before she was pulled out of the Matrix. 

"You're going to be fine." Patch disappeared, and Trinity stayed on the phone to the outside until Tripps assured her that the ship was on its way. She folded up the phone and turned to him. 

"This is my favorite part," he laughed. Trinity rolled her eyes but went right to him. She hugged him and kissed his neck. 

"I'll be back in a few hours." She whispered into his ear. 

"Liar. You stay with her. I'll see you in a few days. You have to get her adjusted. Aren't you taking this one with you? To your ship?" Trinity nodded as she pulled away. "So, that means you have to really work with her. No time off, I'm afraid. It's my loss, right?" That didn't make her smile. It reminded her too much of how restricted their relationship was. He wanted to kick himself for saying it. 

"I'm sorry, Trin. I wasn't thinking." 

"Why should you apologize? It's my hang up." She kept her eyes on the floor. "After all, I should feel lucky, shouldn't I? You're the one who suffers here, but I do all the moping." Neo lifted her chin up with his finger. 

"Hey, I pout too, you know." His smile was infectious, and soon a smile was twitching at the corners of her mouth. "Besides, you look cute when you mope. If you were cheery, I wouldn't know what to do with you." He was rewarded with not only a smile but also a punch in the arm. "Do I still get to let you out?" 

Trinity wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes. 

"What do you think?" 

*********************************************************************** 

Two exits, but only one on a land based line. Odd, Cairo thought as she checked her equipment a second time. The machines were working correctly. One of the three inside had exited using the traditional phone line, but the other exiting party hadn't. Depending on who was left inside, perhaps she might explain it. 

That was when Neo walked near one of the windows. So that meant that the two females were gone. Cairo marked her readings to indicate such. Her eyes left the window for only a second, but in that second, something had happened. 

Neo had seen her. He stopped looking when she turned around again. Cairo had no idea that Neo had seen her. He retreated away from the window, slowly so as not to alarm his watcher. Once out of sight, Neo focused on the Matrix code and pinpointed the series that identified the building across the street. Concentrating on the spot about one foot behind the woman on the building, he transported himself to the other roof. 

Cairo was checking her equipment again. It said that Neo had left too, but that wasn't possible. He was supposed to be disconnected from his body, dead, in all respects. Yet the machines said he had left the building, and she had not seen him leave. 

"Can I help you?" Cairo jumped at the voice right behind her ear. Her default programming, what might have been called instincts, took over. She reached over her shoulder to grab the stranger and flip him or her over the edge. Her arms closed on nothing but air, and her forward momentum nearly caused her to go over the edge. A hand pulling back on her jacket kept her from falling. Whirling around, Cairo jumped to feet, prepared to fight. Whoever had just done that would find he had picked the wrong opponent. 

"I don't think so, lady," Neo growled. Cairo knew it was useless to fight. She dropped her arms to her sides, out of her fighting stance, but she remained tense. Neo folded his arms across his chest and waited for her response. 

"I should have guessed it was you. What are you waiting for, Anderson? Why don't you just erase me too?" 

"Why would I do a thing like that? Never mind, don't answer. I think I've got a pretty good idea. Who are you?" 

"Cairo. I know what you can do, Ander..." 

"Neo, please?" 

"Fine, Neo, I know what you can do. I'm just the latest in a long line of agents you've erased. Get it over with." Cairo closed her eyes and turned away in disgust. 

"You say that almost like you're afraid." Neo regarded Cairo with a look akin to pity. "You are afraid, aren't you? They make agents with feelings these days?" 

"Yes. Are you done now? Can't we just get this over with?" Neo thought about it, but he didn't make any move to erase her program. 

"No, I'm afraid not. I'll have to consider this. Emotional agents, will wonders never cease?" Cairo opened her eyes and focused her glare on him. 

"This is a trick. You're trying to get me to reveal something. It won't work. You had just better erase me now. That's what you do. If I were you, I'd do it too. Just do it and be done with me." Cairo couldn't believe this situation. This human was actually hesitating. He killed other agents without discretion, why should she be any different? 

"I don't need you to reveal anything. You've told me everything." Neo gave her a mock bow. "And so I leave you to your own devices, Cairo." He vanished, leaving Cairo alone on the roof. It took a moment before she could snap back into herself and collect her equipment. She had all she needed to report to Juneau. This encounter with Neo, though...should she include it? Juneau might take it as a sign that he was willing to deal. It was too soon to offer him another deal. She had the idea, not Juneau; she alone knew how to break Neo. All that she needed was the affirmative signal from the machines on the outside. So, this meeting? 

It was definitely not going into her report. 

*********************************************************************** 

Patch would need another few hours of work. She had been exceptionally well behaved during the whole ordeal. Trinity found it hard to believe that Patch was handling the situation that well, but it was better not to question her at the time. She was a great deal more curious than most recently freed people, and Trinity had had to work on her while answering question after question. It was no small blessing that Patch eventually succumbed to exhaustion. 

"Hey, we've got some news from the inside." Tripps approached her from the console. Stretching, Trinity looked up and nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Neo says he's found a new agent program. Some chick by the name of Cairo. Isn't this something? Not only are they making women now, they're not even giving them stupid agent names. She almost sounds like a hacker. Neo says she was something of a stunner, though." 

"What?" Tripps started to laugh hysterically, at Trinity's expense. 

"Relax, those are my words, not his. He actually said, and I quote, 'she was pretty skanky looking'. Satisfied?" Trinity nodded and then proceeded to punch Tripps for his stupid teasing. "I just assumed by 'skanky' that he meant she was pretty and scantily dressed." 

"Tripps, how did you ever manage to have a girlfriend with that attitude?" Laughing, this time at Tripps' expense, Trinity returned to working on finishing with Patch's legs. 

"Ha ha ha, missy." He turned to leave but stopped in mid stride. "Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you. A pilot is bringing up your ship in about five hours. She and the copilot ought to be here in about seven hours, according to my figures. Congratulations, by the way." 

"Thanks, Tripps. Did Zion send their dossiers up ahead?" 

"They're waiting on your minicomputer in your room. They're also bringing a few crewmates for Jolz and I. Seeing as we're losing you and Natalie, I figured we could use more help. Oh, which reminds me, did I tell you that we set a record today?" 

"No. What record did we set?" 

"The record for the most people freed in one day. Patch here," he nodded at the sleeping girl on the table, "is number eight in the past twenty-four hours. The agents are holding back, for the time being. I assume it won't last, and it definitely means that they're up to something, but it's a good sign for today at least." 

"That is a good sign. Did you tell Neo about it?" 

"Yeah, and he was pretty suspicious. He said he'd be out and about trying to find some of the other new agents. There's something different about this set of agents, Trin. I don't like it, and neither does Neo." Trinity stiffened at that news. For Neo to be upset, it must be serious. 

"What's so different about them?" 

"Well, I thought it was nuts, but Neo convinced me." 

"Of what? Convinced you of what?" 

"The new agents have feelings." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Very good, Albany. That makes a positive ID on all of your suspects, giving us a total of forty out of forty-four. Excellent. Any luck attracting their attention?" Albany shook his head. 

"I don't think they're going to fall for anything so obvious. I suggest that we collect as much on them as possible, and strike once we know everything. They will never trust anyone they can't locate on the outside. As much as I hate to admit it, they're smarter than we thought." 

"Agreed. So our previous plan is out. I concur on the plan to study them some more and then take them all out. Any one have another plan?" Juneau looked pointedly at Cairo, who refused to make eye contact. "Cairo? What about this terrific plan of yours? Have you gotten anywhere with it?" Cairo shifted uneasily. 

"All I've gotten is a list of the places that have been turned inside out with no success, Juneau. But there still are too many more places to look before I'm willing to concede defeat on this." 

"Why don't you just tell us, Cai? Let us all in on it," Paris leaned over the table. 

"I can't do that. You don't understand how important it is that I don't let this go until I know everything. It's not worth getting our hopes up over, especially if it doesn't pan out. Another week, no more, I swear." 

"Fine, Cai, you have your week, but I want a report, whether you are sure or not, by that time." Cairo nodded. "Is there any other news to be shared?" Everyone turned to face Cairo when she cleared her throat. 

"I may have some news about Ne...Anderson. He met with Trinity and another human the other day. I ran some checks, and it turns out that the girl has indeed been disconnected from our system. Her name is Felicia Grady, otherwise known as 'Patch'. She exited the Matrix yesterday, as did Trinity. Anderson is still here, of course." 

"How is this news?" 

"Well, for one, I have found a location I believe receives some heavy outsider traffic. It's the old bed and breakfast on the West Side." 

"But our reports said that building was cleared." Paris looked at Juneau, who could only send a helpless, silent plea to Cairo for explanation. 

"Exactly. We cleared the building, and we have never gone back to it." 

"And neither have the humans. It's too hot," Albany reasoned aloud. 

"Wrong, it's perfect for them. Think about it. We have exposed this building as a former hideout for them, so we assume they are too smart to go back to a building that we have penetrated, right? But they know we assume this, so they also know that we won't be paying any attention to that place. So it's the perfect hideaway. We don't look there, assuming they won't go there, so they do. Simple, huh?" 

"Interesting, Cai. What did you learn about Anderson?" Cairo gave Juneau a blank look for a moment. "You said you may have learned something new about him. What?" 

"Oh, right. Well, as I said, the girl, Patch exited our system. So did Trinity. I know that because I tracked the exit signals, and I saw Neo afterwards, and he can't even leave anyway. The equipment told me that there had been two departures, but only one was listed as having done so on a land line." The room fell silent as the other three agents stared at Cairo. 

"You mean..." 

"Yes, that's what I mean. Anderson can wake these people up without any outside help." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Come on, come on! Just a little bit more and we're there!" Natalie's urgent tugs on Patch's arm finally dragged the weary teen into the new ship. Trinity watched the two girls disappear into the underbelly of her ship. 

Her ship. She hadn't thought this would ever happen. The ship was listed as the Caesar, but that would be changed. Trinity couldn't picture spending her life in any ship, save for one. As soon as possible, she would have it changed. It would be rechristened in honor of her fallen friends. The Nebuchadnezzar would be the scourge of the Matrix once more. 

The new pilot and copilot came out to greet her. Shifting the minicomputer into one hand, she shook each proffered hand. 

"Hi, I'm Farad, I'll be your pilot. And may I say, it is an honor to be working with you, ma'am." Trinity nodded and smiled. 

"Trinity." 

"Oh, right. Trinity, it is an honor to be working with you." Trinity shook her head in amusement as she absorbed the physical details on Farad. She was short, only about 5'4", but wiry and energetic. She had her blond hair in the pixie cut that was the norm for most freed women. 

"And I'm Surge, the copilot." Trinity nodded to him. He was about a foot taller than Farad, but he had the same blond hair cut almost exactly the same. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the two of you were..." 

"Related? Bingo. This jerk's my kid brother. Why else you think this ego-maniac would take orders from little old me?" Farad laughed, and Surge was obligated to give her a pinch to stop her mirth. Trinity appraised them with a quizzical look. 

"Is it a habit to send siblings out together? On my last ship..." the words stuck in her throat like barbs. Her last ship, as she preferred to remember it, had been the Nebuchadnezzar. Tank, Dozer, both great friends, both gone. She bit down on the remorse; she couldn't appear to be so affected in front of her subordinates, especially at their first meeting. 

"Yeah, I guess it's just better than splitting us up. 'Sides, I like having this puke-face around to torture." Farad slapped her brother hard on the rear. Trinity allowed a slight chuckle to escape. 

"That's fine, just so long as you don't let it get out of hand. Nice to have met you both. Now, first things first. I want you to get the ship started. We're heading out. It's dangerous for us to be grouped together. I'll keep the girls out of your way until we're safely away." Trinity shook their hands again and left them to their own devices. 

"Wait, uh, Trinity?" She about-faced and waited for Surge to continue. 

"Where exactly are we going?" 

"To Zion. I need to find out just how we're planning to take down the Matrix." 

*********************************************************************** 

Part 3: Getting Somewhere 

Zion. She had only been there once, but now it was the only place to go. Trinity rubbed her eyes. Sleep eluded her every time she turned over in her bed. Real or not, she had gotten used to sleeping beside Neo in the Matrix, and now, alone, she couldn't rest. What was the plan to destroy the Matrix? She needed to know. 

"The One will come again, and when he does, the war will end..." the Oracle's rasping voice rattled through her head. If the war were to end, the Matrix would have to be shut down, and Neo would vanish from her life. Conflicting forces pulled on her heart. Living without Neo would be unpleasant, but could she think only of herself? 

How would the Matrix even be destroyed? If they set off a bomb, the Matrix would be shut down, and billions of people would die. If they woke up everyone, there would be too many problems for her to even contemplate. Maybe it would be mass murder, but letting those people die would actually be the merciful action to take. If all those people were awake... 

"More Cyphers..." she tasted the bile on those words. They were true, after all. Some people would never be able to adjust to the real world; others would go mad. There could be no way to indoctrinate all those people, no way to help them understand and fit into this reality. Hell, she thought bitterly, they can't get along in the Matrix, and things out here are much more complicated. 

But what was the alternative? Killing everyone not woken up, that was it. The war would be lost if they kept on waking people this slowly. Even with the record numbers of recently freed minds, the process was too tardy to be effective. Once a sustainable number of people were on the outside, they could start over with the Matrix destroyed. Yet still, Trinity couldn't accept this loss. What might the history books say about her and the other resistors in the future? 

They won't say anything if we don't destroy the Matrix, and you know it, she chided herself. So, she was committed to what she could only hope was the lesser of two evils. When she met with the leaders in Zion that was the position she'd have to defend. They would ask her if she had considered it, and she would say yes. 

And then, they would ask about Neo. Maybe it wasn't common knowledge that she was involved with him, but enough people knew about his status. She had explained it to Tripps, and he had passed the information along the grapevine. Neo was officially nothing more than a ghost in the machine. If she hoped to have any effect on encouraging the others to act, she had to appear unaffected by her emotions; she had to appear completely levelheaded. 

What would Neo say if he knew she was planning to destroy the Matrix, an action which, if completed successfully, meant that he would die? 

"You do what you have to, Trinity." That's what he would say. He wouldn't be sentimental or upset or offended. He'd know what would have to be done to help others, and he wouldn't care what the consequences for himself were, his response to leaving Morpheus with Agent Smith had shown that. She tried to hear his voice as she imagined what he would say to comfort her, to assure her that he held no grudge for her actions. 

"Hey, I'm already dead, right? Once you're dead, death isn't so scary anymore." 

*********************************************************************** 

It was late in the Matrix. Cairo had been out all day tracking down the last of her targets. Juneau had told her that they would strike against all targets within two weeks. She had also said that she wanted a full report on Cairo's plan at the end of one week. That had been four days ago, but Cairo was still no closer to successfully initiating her plan. The sentinels had been searching out every known corner for what she sought, yet they still hadn't located it. With her rotten luck, if it were possible for a program to have luck, they wouldn't find it in time, or it would be destroyed. 

They would never be able to control Neo in any other way. Out in the real world somewhere was the only thing for which he might bend to their wishes. Time was running out, though, and not only because Cairo had to report to Juneau in three days. The outside humans would be ready to strike. Having been decimated once already, the humans would not be hesitant to strike at the Matrix's own mainframe. They had seen that their mainframe was vulnerable and must have reasoned that the Matrix's would be also. With all the years the humans had on the outside, they should have a considerable amount of detailed information on the location, security, and weaknesses of the Matrix's 'brain'. 

So why hadn't they struck yet? Cairo knew that the war these humans fought was one fought on the minefields of the mind. Intelligence, quick thinking, and adaptation were the weapons with which this war would be won. The humans and the agents, like herself, played cat and mouse with one another in a dizzying cycle. The agents knew this and the humans knew that the agents knew...and so on. Right now, the humans had to know that the agents were holding back on purpose. Cairo had known that for certain when Neo had spoken to her and not killed her. Had she eliminated any of his outside friends, she wouldn't have ever had the chance to have that rather odd conversation with him. 

Why haven't they attacked us yet? Cairo chewed on the question and spit it out without an answer. They wouldn't be waiting on Neo. They must understand his situation to be irreversible. Neo did have extraordinary powers; powers that no human, save for the one mentioned in her memory files, had ever had or could ever have. Neo was still stuck, though; he was restricted to the Matrix, and he couldn't fight the Matrix on the outside. 

When Cairo finally sat down to check the reports on her laptop, she had several new messages. Albany had sent in his daily report that outlined another exit spot for the humans and a few miscellaneous notes on his targets. Paris had done the same, only he excluded his personal notes. Juneau had included her own sketches on her targets, giving details on their apparent habits and such. The last message was from the outside. 

BEGIN REPORT: 

Sector W94 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

Sector G67 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

Sector R38 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

END REPORT 

Cairo sighed and erased the message. She wouldn't give up hope yet. All in all, she had been programmed to be the optimist in the reserved file, and against what might have been her understanding of logic, she remained hopeful. There were still at least forty or more sectors left to search. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Welcome to Zion," Farad chirped cheerfully. She pulled the ship over to a docking port and waited for Trinity to give in the passwords to gain admittance. That done, Trinity lost no time in ordering her crew to stay aboard while she went out. 

"I will be gone for two hours, no longer, maybe a bit shorter. I want you to stay here and run whatever systems checks you think necessary. Farad, Surge? I want you to help Patch learn how to do everything you do, save for flying, of course." Patch chuckled at that, as did the others. Natalie alone looked hesitant to accept the orders. 

"Why can't I go too?" 

"I'm sorry, Nat, I don't have a good reason why you shouldn't come, so I'm going to have to pull rank on you. I'm giving an order to everyone to stay here, and you are a part of that everyone, understand?" Natalie stared at Trinity. 

"You don't want me to come, I understand. That's your reason. You should go now." Natalie walked off into the ship. 

"Well, if that's settled, I'll be on my way then." Farad gave her a good luck smile, and she departed. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Welcome, Trinity. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?" The oldest woman that Trinity had ever seen was addressing her. Trinity felt a chill play along her spine, the same chill that seeing the Oracle had given her. This woman was older than the Oracle; she was maybe ninety or older, and yet she appeared very healthy and in decent shape. Her kind smile glowed in the dimly lit room. 

"Why are you here?" A younger woman, who was no more than twenty-five at most, ruined the softness of the other woman's greeting. She looked upon Trinity with a gaze of what Trinity could only assume to be contempt, possibly mixed with jealousy. 

"I am here so that I can not be left out of the loop on command decisions. You are the generals here, and every leader accepts that. I do not." 

"How dare you..." the younger woman began, but the older lady cut her off with a swift gesture of her hand. 

"May I ask why you feel you are entitled to this information? What is it that you hope to accomplish by intruding into our business here?" Trinity surveyed the room. The other members of this council were suspiciously silent. Trinity knew better than to assume that they were quiet out of respect; if they were quiet, than it was because the older woman had wished it. 

"I feel that this body, this way of deciding what happens to our people in this war is out of date. All of you have been sheltered, save for the attack on Zion. Until that attack, none of you knew what a close escape from a sentinel was like, nor did you know what it was like to have to run for your lives or kill to stay alive. I can tell by looking that more than half of you are outside-born, which means you don't know anything about the faux reality of the Matrix. I do, and so do most of the leaders out there actually fighting. You need to communicate with me and with them more, or else we run the risk of falling completely on our faces in this war." 

"Point taken, Trinity." The older woman nodded to her colleagues. "Very well, what is it you wish to know?" 

"How about we start with your names, and move on to more serious business from there, ma'am?" The older woman laughed, a pleasant grandmother-like noise. 

"I believe that is a very good idea. I am Ophelia. Next?" Trinity listened as they went around the table introducing themselves. The younger woman identified herself as Axis. Besides Ophelia, that was the only other name Trinity bothered to remember, as she was sure to hear more objections from Axis. 

"Satisfactory?" Trinity nodded. "Next question?" 

"I want to know exactly what your plans are, including all the blueprints on anything that might be relevant, regarding the destruction of the Matrix." Murmurs went around the table. 

"May I ask why this is so important to you?" 

"Ophelia, with all due respect, I want to make it clear that I intend to be the one who destroys the Matrix." 

Dead silence absorbed the entire room. Trinity stood her ground. This was why she came. Any sign of weakness would only encourage the council to refuse her demand. Axis' mouth had dropped open. She was the first to recover, however, but she only managed a stutter. 

"Wh-what makes you think you are qualified for that?" Trinity was about to speak, but Axis jumped out of her seat, her earlier contempt replaced by outrage. Stalking right over to where Trinity stood, Axis tried to stare Trinity down. Trinity returned Axis' angry look with a determined stare of her own. 

"Why do you ask? You have someone better in mind?" 

"And if I did? Pardon me, your royal highness," Axis sneered, "but I think I am more qualified to do this than you are. Anyone here would be too. You take things too personally, and you'd wind up blowing it." Restraint was not easy. Axis was practically begging Trinity to hit her, but Trinity didn't give in to that rather tempting idea. 

"What makes you so right for it, city-dweller?" The rest of the table looked confused and waited for Trinity to explain her question. She turned and glanced at them. "The fact you aren't insulted by that proves my point. Calling someone a city-dweller is the biggest insult anyone on the outside can give." She shook her head; her point was lost on them. 

"Aren't we being a little immature?" Axis folded her arms across her chest. 

"No, I'm stating a fact. None of you have faced the machines like I have, and there is no one on the ships who has my experience. I am the right person for a surgical strike against the Matrix's central computer. End of discussion." 

"Why, you..." 

"Silence!" Everyone turned in surprise to face Ophelia. The old woman leaned back in her chair before she continued. "She is right. This will be the end of the discussion. We will vote on this right now, once and for all." 

"It has to be unanimous," Axis whined. 

"No," an anonymous member chimed in, "we have always declared majority rules." 

"Very well then, now that that's settled, shall we vote?" Ophelia raised her hand. "Who votes 'yea'?" Of the twelve members present, eleven raised their hands and said "yea". Only Axis remained unmoved. 

"Axis, may we assume that you vote 'nay'?" 

"You could say that," she snapped, and muttered, "like it makes a difference." 

"Then the 'yea's have it. Trinity, you are no charged with the responsibility of destroying the Matrix's operating center." Trinity nodded. 

"Thank you." 

"There is one condition, however." 

"Name it." 

"Axis will accompany you on your mission." 

*********************************************************************** 

This new agent wasn't stupid, but she couldn't evade him, no matter how hard she tried. Neo followed her code signature as it inserted into every new location. He followed her on every scouting mission, watched her track down several people he knew had to be freed minds, and read everything she had recorded in her notes. Cairo never knew when he was or wasn't there. 

It had taken him almost a week to find the other three agent programs. Cairo had finally gone to the meeting with the others, and Neo waited outside for them to all show up. He identified and memorized the visages of the other three, one more female program and two male programs. It gave him the opportunity to try a new trick he had learned. If he focused hard enough on the agents, he could absorb their code, and thereby save their appearances in his memory, which he could later transfer to the computer and send to the outside. He had stumbled upon this trick when he realized that, in essence, he was like a program himself. Since his existence was purely digital, so was his memory, so it stood to reason that he could save information in it. Later, when he transferred it, he was proved right. 

The meeting didn't last too long, but Neo was really anxious for it to be over. Something about this meeting bothered him. The agents were gathering information, and they were sharing it while he stood outside, unable to see or hear anything. They were waiting to strike, and no one knew when they would act. Yet not even that bothered him; it was something else, something he couldn't identify, but definitely it was a topic that frightened. 

*********************************************************************** 

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Juneau waited for Cairo to answer. 

"I just mean that I can't tell you right now. I may still be successful with this plan, and I want to wait until I am positive. Please, Juneau, just let it drop. I'll be sure by the time we attack the humans, I promise." 

"That's not good enough, Cai. We've waited and waited. I refuse to let this kind of insubordination continue. Either you tell us what you have in mind, or I take it from you." Cairo shuddered. Juneau could do it, too. Her program was the master program in the reserved file, and she possessed the ability to steal information from other agent programs; it was a trait that kept Juneau as a last resort since she could do that and had the free will to exercise it. 

"I can tell you the basics, but not even I have all the details, okay?" Everyone nodded. "I told you all before that Anderson is the real problem. I also told you that there was no way to bargain with him, and that every time an agent has tried, he has refused. I know why, and I told you why. Anderson doesn't fall for these phony promises because he knows better. My plan involves bargaining with him, but this time, I am going to offer him something tangible." 

"What?" 

"Something he would kill for, and he will kill to get it. Once I find it, of course." 

"You're not going to tell us?" Albany looked amused. 

"That is not a part of the outline, no." Juneau sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. 

"This had better be worth the aggravation..." 

*********************************************************************** 

"What? She can't do this kind of work!" Any composure that Trinity had had was gone. The idea of Axis tagging along was enough to make her blood run black with anger. 

"Axis did have a point, Trinity," Ophelia chided. "She knows every detail of the information we have on the Matrix's central computer. She will provide that information, and you will get both of you inside to destroy it. No questions asked." Trinity quelled her fury, but it threatened to get the better of her when she saw Axis' gloating face. 

"When can I get started?" 

"Wait a minute," Axis looked like she had been shot. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. "You can't just go in there and shut it down. You'd kill everyone still attached. Billions would die. Do they deserve to die because you can't be patient?" Axis stared at Trinity in wonder. 

"Listen to me, I won't say this twice. We can never free all of those people. For every one mind we free, the Matrix can replace it with thirty. Our methods are too slow. Waking everyone up is not only impossible, but it is also dangerous." Trinity looked to the rest of the room for support before she continued, talking directly to Axis 

"If you are half as smart as a donkey's ass, you know that there is no way six billion people can survive on the outside in the near future. First off, we don't have the facilities or the resources. Secondly, only about half of them will accept this world. That means the other half will want to stay plugged in the Matrix. Of that half, many will be driven insane by the shock, and we can't handle millions of lunatics running around. The rest will either try to kill themselves or kill others. After we finish dealing with those folks, we'll have to face the people who would protect or even rebuild the Matrix. Traitors." 

The room hushed again at that word. The story of Cypher's betrayal was common knowledge now. The devastation was still fresh in everyone's mind. No one made any motion to talk. Even Axis appeared to be considering what Trinity had just said. 

"Knowing all this, you have to consider the alternative to be the least evil of two rather nasty choices. I know we do not have a sustainable number of people on the outside right now, but if we continue to have the success of this past week, we may be ready to shut down in another couple of weeks." 

"Just how successful have we been?" Ophelia seemed genuinely interested in this idea. Trinity could only hope that the others were too. 

"We had four minds the first day, and since then, my crew and the crews of all twenty ships currently functioning have rescued thirty people this week." One of the council members gave a low whistle. Those numbers were, indeed, spectacular. 

"Thirty? In one week?" Trinity hadn't thought it possible, but Axis looked even more shocked at this news. 

"It is phenomenal, but we have had fantastic luck, nothing more. The agents have been avoiding confrontations. They are waiting to attack, but when or why, no one knows. Neo is working on it from the inside as I speak." A look was passed from member to member at the mention of Neo's name. The look ended at Ophelia who sat back in her chair and sighed. 

"Yes, Neo, dear boy. What about him, Trinity? Does he know that he will most likely die if you shut down the Matrix?" 

"He does, and he understands." Axis eyed Trinity suspiciously. 

"Oh really? Mr. I'm-so-special doesn't mind his girlfriend sneaking around behind his back and plotting to kill him?" 

That did it. With one swift gesture, Trinity spun around, sweeping Axis' legs and knocking her to the floor. At the same time, she drove her first, charged with all her anger, right into Axis' gut. Once Axis was on the ground, Trinity pulled her head back by grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking on it. Despite being out of breath, Axis let a light scream out. Trinity flipped her over onto her back. 

"You bitch..." Axis managed to gasp. She raised her hand to strike Trinity, but Trinity batted it away. Realizing she still had a handful of Axis' hair, she pulled her head up and then slammed it into the floor. Axis passed out; she was dazed and unconscious but still breathing. 

"That was uncalled for," Ophelia merely criticized, but Trinity shuddered. The menace that the statement masked was enough to pull her away from Axis' body. 

"I'm sorry to have upset you, but that is all I'm apologizing for." Trinity crossed her arms and waited. Ophelia sighed again and nodded. 

"That will be all, Trinity. When she wakes up, we will send her to your ship, and you can be on your way. You have this body's permission to shut down the Matrix in two weeks time. You are hereby ordered to wait that long before taking any actions against the machines, understand?" 

"Yes ma'am." 

"You may need that long to review the plans anyway. Are there any objections?" Of course, there weren't as the only dissenter was out cold on the floor. 

"Good luck, Trinity." 

*********************************************************************** 

Cairo returned to her designated apartment around three AM. Her targets had been active again, and she had counted ten new people making exits. That meant, out of only her targets, there were ten more outsiders ready to fight her and the others. Juneau and the others were anxious to act, but none of them knew just how yet. Fortunately for Cairo, as they spun in circles, covering the same ground, she gained time to continue her search. She went directly to her 'home' laptop and checked her contacts from the outside. 

There was one message from the outside waiting for her. 

BEGIN REPORT: 

Sector H31 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

Sector J80 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

Sector Y67 searched...Operation Holy Grail unsuccessful in sector. 

Cairo nearly deleted the message. She figured that she knew what it said. Only a blinking line at the end caught her attention. 

SectorN01 searched...Operation Holy Grail successful in sector. 

END REPORT 

Cairo stopped breathing. She didn't need to breathe, period, but like all the other programs, she did to appear more human. Shock wrapped its claws around her thoughts. There was a file attached to the blinking line. She clicked on it. The picture downloaded in a second. 

It was there, in glorious color. The object for which she had searched for so long, and now she had it...the machines had it on the outside, just waiting for her to use it. 

Now, she knew, she would be able to control and eliminate the humans...with Neo's help. 

*********************************************************************** 

Part 4: Developments 

Farad came out to greet Trinity as she approached, wiping her greasy hands on a towel. She gave Trinity a hopeful look. 

"So? How'd it go? 

"What do you want to hear? The good news or the wretched news?" 

"Hit me with the good news first, I tend to collapse easily due to shock." 

"Good news it is," Trinity boarded the ship with Farad following close behind. "The good news is they said I get to do it." 

"But? Where's the 'but' that I'm sure will lead to the bad news?" 

"Well there are really two parts to the bad news side. One, we have to wait two weeks before we are even allowed to consider shut down. And two, well, two should be arriving momentarily...as soon as she regains consciousness." Farad bit on her lips to keep a smile down. 

"I'm guessing 'two' is something of a pill?" 

"That's the nice way of saying she's a complete bitch, right?" Farad nodded. "Then yes, she is something of a pill, but feel free to call her anything that comes to mind when you meet her." 

"This her got a name?" 

"Yes, she does." Axis had come in just then, still rubbing her head. "She would be Axis. And you are?" 

"Farad, ma'am, pleased to meet you." Farad extended her hand, but Axis merely stared at it. "Um, it's a quaint custom we have, you know, the one where you shake the other person's hand in greeting?" When Axis still didn't move, Farad seized her hand and shook it. "Real pleasure." 

"What do you do on this ship?" All business, Trinity groaned inwardly. If she really had to take Axis inside, this attitude would get them both killed. 

"I fly, my brother, Surge...you'll meet him later...is copilot. Nice to have you aboard, Axis. Say, Trinity?" Donning a mischievous smile, Farad turned to her captain. "Why don't you show her a room, and I'll get everyone out of the way so you two can talk business. I wouldn't want anyone interrupting." Farad disappeared before Trinity could protest. 

"Are they always insubordinate? Or is this a consequence of working for you?" Axis glared at Trinity. Work with her, not against her, Trinity repeated her mantra in her head. 

"Listen, we got off on the wrong foot. I have to work with you, and you have to work with me, so why don't we just agree to get along for the duration of this assignment? It will make the mission just that much easier." 

"Agreed, but I'm watching you, Trinity. One slip, and I tell the council you are unfit for this task." Axis reached into the bag that was slung around her shoulder and extracted a small file. "Here, take the hard copy." 

"These are the plans for the central computer?" Axis nodded. "Why are they written? Wouldn't it be easier to have them on disk?" Trinity flipped through the file. 

"Yes, but it is too dangerous to travel outside of Zion with that disk. You will have to input these files onto your own disk, if you plan to upload it, I mean." 

"Why can't you just bring me the file?" 

"Because if the machines ever got it, they'd know exactly what we do and don't know about the central computer. This way, if you make your own copy, they will have no idea, should they get that copy, how much more Zion knows." 

"Sounds okay, but how do I know that you haven't left something out?" Trinity distrusted Axis to say the least, but she was trying her best not to let that personal response carry into her voice. It was a valid question, after all. 

"You know that I haven't left anything out because I'm going to go in with you. Whatever is on those papers is all the information we're going to have. Why would I risk my neck on insufficient information? I may have helped to collect it, but I'll be damned if I know it all." 

"Very well then, I guess I'll have to take your word for it, won't I?" Trinity waved off the protest in Axis' throat. "Sorry, I forgot we're on the same side for the moment." She cleared her throat. "Won't you follow me? I'll show you your room, the kitchen, and anything else relevant to your stay on my ship." Silent pride coursed through Trinity at the words 'my ship'. It was an achievement that she could boast about, especially to a city-dweller like Axis. Trinity's only disappointment was that Axis was not a natural birth. That would have given her the last bit of necessary argument to have kept Axis off this mission. Oh well, no use crying about it now, she sighed. They reached the extra rooms on the lower deck in another minute. 

"I hope you enjoy your stay. I'll read these over and talk to you in the morning. Right now, I'm going to tell Farad to get us out of here. Goodnight," Trinity smiled a plastic grin and left before Axis could utter another word. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Well, gents and lady," Juneau purred, "it seems Cairo has come through with her plan after all. Without further ado, I will turn the floor over to her. Cai?" Cairo nodded and rose from her chair. Juneau, Albany, and Paris watched her intently. She didn't let their gazes disrupt her; she was so proud of her discovery and success that nothing could take away this elation. 

"Lights." The lights in the room dimmed as Cairo hit the projector attached to her laptop. "I know this is covering old ground, but I want to start from the beginning. If I do, you will understand the sheer genius of my plan in its entirety." 

"Aren't we bragging just a little bit?" Albany gave her a smirk to go along with his sarcasm. 

"No, I am being completely serious. This will be not only the most successful plan any agent has ever initiated, but it is also the most clever. May I continue?" 

"Go ahead, Cai." Cairo nodded her thanks to Juneau and cleared her throat for emphasis. Hitting a button on her laptop, Cairo called up the first picture in her presentation. 

"This is Thomas A. Anderson, a.k.a. Neo. Our facts on this man, aside from the typical character report, are as follows: He was approached by Morpheus and his crew and detached from our system about eight and a half months ago. Morpheus had contacted him once, and we believe that he was instructed to attempt an escape from the agent programs running at the time, which would be Agents Brown, Jones, and Smith. For whatever reason, Anderson did not escape those agents, and instead the agents were able to bug him. One night later, the bug was found, outside its host, and several exits had been made. An extra exit signal denoted that Anderson had also exited our system. The number of signals was given to us by an insider, a man named Cypher." Cairo stopped. The others knew what she was waiting for. 

"We're clear, Cai, go ahead." 

"For two weeks, our insider reported nothing. Then, at the end of the two weeks, he met with Agent Smith to discuss a deal. The provisions of that deal were as follows: Cypher was to deliver into the agents' custody a man who knew the access codes to the human city's-Zion's-computer. In return, it was agreed that Cypher would be reinserted into our system, with no memory of his outside life whatsoever. Also, it was arranged that another outsider, Trinity, would be reinserted with her memory washed and adapted to the role of Cypher's wife. So far, so good?" 

"Continue." 

"To make a long story short..." 

"Too late," Paris chuckled. 

"Ahem? As I was saying...the insider's plan worked. Of a total nine humans on the insider's ship, only two ultimately survived, Cypher and Trinity. Every crewmember was eliminated immediately, by the insider, save for Morpheus, who was interrogated and then, killed. The insider was given his reward, Zion was destroyed, and we assumed the problem to be over." 

"This is the part where she goes 'but...' " Albany rolled his eyes. Cairo resisted the urge to smack him. 

"Right, asshole, there is a 'but'." She tapped the screen behind her shoulder. "Around eight months ago, this man was killed when our informant ripped the axial line from his cranium. His mind was separated from his body, and he was instantly killed. However, within hours of the initiation of the plan, and barely an hour, from our estimates, after his own death, Anderson was walking around the Matrix again." 

"Was he really walking? Or just strolling? There is a difference, you know." 

"Shut your hole, Al." 

"Thanks, Juneau. Now, after Anderson showed up, we ran a systems analysis on our entire mainframe, all our software, and all hardware. The results were inconclusive, to say the least. They stated that there was no error in any of those aforementioned spots. There was no glitch or loose file that would account for Anderson being alive. At the same time, he was and still is there. Like any of our other software, he has a code of his own, and he exists pretty much as any one of us exists..." 

"Except he's invincible." Paris finished her sentence. This review was slowly driving him crazy. In another minute, he'd have to leave or he'd take over the entire production. 

"Right. He is not only able to dematerialize within the Matrix, his code is invulnerable. We can't erase it, and we don't know why. In the past, agents tried to locate Anderson and deal with him. They'd offer him anything in return for his word that he wouldn't try to teach any more humans about the outside. Every time he has been approached, he has refused any boon or laughed at any threat. On top of that, he has found numerous ways to help the outsiders while remaining inside the Matrix. He has destroyed countless agent programs, helped more than one person exit our system, and even restored Trinity's memory. He is a enigma, but he is, after all, only human." 

"What are you saying, Cai? What's the plan?" Cairo smiled. No one mentioned it, but everyone could see the predatory mirth behind that smile. 

"He's human. He has a human's failings: emotions, relationships, and like all humans, he can be selfish." Cairo hit another button on her laptop. A screen with a delay replaced Neo's picture. The screen began counting down from thirty seconds. 

"I'm about to show you the treasure unearthed by Operation Holy Grail. This is the one thing that Anderson wants. I told you, he's human. If he had this, this something that is now in our possession, he'd be ever more so. This, my fellow agents, is the trump card that will enable us to defeat the outsiders and Anderson." 

The delay screen dissolved into the image that had first come onto Cairo's home computer only the night before. The projector enlarged the pixilated image, but there was no need for it to have done so. If the other three had been forced to, they would have just as easily recognized what it was even if were a mere few pixels wide. 

"Holy shit." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Where are you going?" Axis poked her head around the corner. Trinity sighed. She had hoped to be underway before Axis caught up with her. Farad was setting up the connection to the inside a few feet away, but she wasn't interested in getting in the fight. 

"I'm going to see Neo. Is there a problem?" Axis' eyebrows twitched slightly. Okay, so there was a problem. 

"There is if you have any plan to tell him what we're up to out here." 

"He's entitled to know when we're going to strike if he's going to die because of it." 

"I would agree with you normally, but you can't go into the Matrix and tell him. It would most likely end up being heard by the wrong people. You can't give him dates, timeframes, whatever. Just say soon or something. Understood?" 

"Only if you understand that I don't take orders on my ship." Trinity moved over to Axis and stood right in front of her. If it came down to intimidation, Trinity was certain to win. "I concur with your suggestion, but don't assume it means I am, in any way, taking an order of yours." Trinity waved her away and finished setting up the chair. Farad calmly strolled over and leaned against another chair. 

"Tight-assed little witch, huh?" 

"Don't get me started. I need to focus on something more productive right now. How are we doing?" 

"All set, so hop in." Trinity climbed into the chair, and Farad inserted the line. 

"Keep Axis out of trouble," Trinity whispered before closing her eyes. 

"You got it. Have fun." 

*********************************************************************** 

Neo was bent over the machines when she woke up in the other room. He didn't pay any attention to her entrance, but he knew that Trinity had arrived. Her signature was so familiar. Her arrival and his response to it proved just how much he had missed her. It had been too long. 

"Hey." He turned at her voice. 

"Hey. Long time no see, huh?" A faint smile tickled her lips. Neo swallowed the rising panic in his stomach. She seemed to easily amused, and that was never a good sign. "What brings you to my place?" 

"Oh, I just figured you wouldn't want to come to mine, so I thought I'd stop by." She smiled more, but Neo just shook his head. Even these pleasantries were suspicious. Something was pressing on her mind, and she didn't want to say it. That made conversation a bit strained. 

"Okay, that was lame. Um, how have you been?" He raised his hand to cut her off before she could answer. "Never mind, that wasn't any better." He scratched his head and did his best to look confused. "Ah, fuck it." Grappling her around the waist, Neo pulled her into his lap. To his surprise, she kissed him before he had the chance. When they finally broke the kiss, Neo feigned hurt. 

"You stole my idea!" Trinity's smile took on a savagely happy attitude. 

"And glad I did." Another kiss and Neo forgot anything clever he might have replied to that. Trinity pulled him to his feet, still kissing him, and tugged on his shirt all the way to the bed. Just as her knees met the edge of the bed, she flipped around and pushed Neo down and then landed on top of him. Neo managed to break the lip-lock she had on him once more. 

"I guess you missed me too, right?" Trinity laughed for all of a second. 

"You can tell? Well aren't you smart. Now shut up," she ordered before sealing his mouth with hers. 

*********************************************************************** 

There are many different degrees of silence. Airports, concerts, and parties are generally acknowledged to be the absolute absence of silence, whereas the tomb is considered the epitome of silence. No research has yet to uncover any place more silent than the grave. 

That's because no researchers were present in the room with the agents. Even the whirring of the electronics in the room was absent. The agents weren't moving; there was no way of telling their shock from a still-life portrait. While their bodies were still, each of their minds was abuzz with activity. 

Cairo glowed triumphantly. This was the reaction she had wanted and that she had risked Juneau's anger to achieve. If any of the details of Operation Holy Grail had been released, it would have only served to spoil this moment. She knew they would accept her plan now; there was no reason why they should refuse. Everything was settled. 

Juneau was the first to take in a sucking breath. The pained inhalation reminded Cairo of someone drawing in breath after having the wind driven out of them. After Juneau recovered, Albany and Paris each let out a low whistle at the same time. 

"Are there any questions?" Cairo glanced from stunned face to stunned face. 

"Uh, yeah, I've got one." Paris rubbed his forehead, trying to clear his turbulent thoughts. 

"Yes, Paris?" 

"How soon can we...you know, use this?" The question was directed to Juneau, and Cairo nodded to indicate that she should answer it. 

"I know we said that we'd attack the humans in another couple of weeks or so, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. I think we need to see just how cooperative Mr. Anderson intends on being now that this is in our possession. We may be able to step up the time table." 

"I can find him, Juneau, show it to him. Give me a few days to attract his attention in such a way so that he will listen to me. That may be a hurdle to overcome. I know he'll fall in line for this, but what I don't know is whether he'll even listen to me so I can offer it." 

"You take your time, Cai. This is too important to let Anderson walk away from it." Cairo nodded. Juneau smiled and then started laughing. "This will make it so much easier. Jesus, Cai, what a brilliant idea!" Juneau looked to her other agents to see if they shared her mirth. Albany looked troubled. "Al? What's up? You not enjoying this?" 

"I don't know if this can work. Cai, are you sure you can fix that thing? Get it working again?" Cairo's face turned three shades whiter. Why hadn't she thought of that? 

"I...I don't know." Cairo's legs threatened to drop her to the floor, but she managed to collapse into her chair before they did. The mirth on Juneau's face disappeared momentarily, but the hard optimism remained. 

"It has to work. Cai?" Cairo looked up, dejection written on her features. "Cai, don't worry. Get the sentinels to work on it, make it a top priority. When they fix it..." 

"If they fix it." 

"No, they can fix anything, Cai, and we have to trust that they can fix this. When they fix it, get a video link of it working to show Anderson. If that doesn't work, nothing will." Cairo nodded, hope returning. She looked to Juneau who gave her a reassuring smile. 

"This could still work." 

*********************************************************************** 

Trinity had fallen asleep after about an hour of troubled shifting around. Neo tried to sympathize, but he found himself to be curiously selfish at the moment. She had been a bit reserved in their love making, despite her early ferocity, and, afterwards, it had taken him a good ten minutes to pull the secret out of her. She had wanted to talk, but he had said 'no' and made her promise to go to sleep. That had taken another forty-five minutes. The way she looked now, peaceful and happy, belied her troubled sleep. 

Neo hadn't been able to sleep for a while now. He had stopped really sleeping since his meeting with the agent on the roof. Something about agents with ability to hate and love, the ability to feel, but more importantly, to think, was disturbing. He hadn't missed the sleep, as he never needed it in the first place, and he was only just recognizing the fact he hadn't slept. 

Trinity stirred again and moved closer to him, laying her arm across his chest. Tightening his arm around her back, he kissed her hand and waited for the slight spasm to end. Her dreams must be giving her subconscious trouble new ugliness, a dark side that her waking mind would never have invented. 

Why shouldn't she suffer? Neo shook that thought repeatedly, but it kept returning. It was selfish and undeserving, but still it floated through his thoughts. He knew just how painful the situation was for Trinity, so why should he wish her any more pain? 

Because you are suffering too, and misery doesn't just love company, it wants company to be more miserable. That was the heart of it. Trinity had been reserved because she was afraid of his reaction to the news. No matter how many times she had told herself that he would understand, she had still been afraid to tell him. Neo tried to be understanding. He just didn't want to talk to her about it. 

In all honesty, he couldn't say anything until he knew what he wanted to say. His mind was divided into two voices, each petitioning for their side to win his opinion. One voice told him to be angry with Trinity because she wanted him to be dead. The other voice was gentler and whispered that Trinity was doing what was right, despite the fact she, too, would suffer as a result. He tried to drown out the first voice. Trinity's decision proved that she saw a bigger picture, the biggest picture. She wanted the end of the war, and that was a goal that the resistance had fought for without reservation ever since the first mind had been freed. 

The first One. Neo's mind drifted from his current dilemma to the old one. If he could turn back time, get the chance to do just one thing over, he'd redo that day they visited the Oracle. He'd know that he was the One, and then he could ask her, ask her what that meant. Did it mean he was reincarnated? No memories of any past lives encouraged him to think that wasn't true. What then? Was he just another person with the same abilities? Then couldn't there be multiple Ones? The 'what ifs' spun around in circles. He hadn't figured them out yet, and he probably never would. 

And Trinity? What about her? Was she reincarnated too? Did the first One have someone like her? Neo's arm tightened unconsciously around Trinity. If Trinity hadn't survived Cypher's betrayal, he would have gone mad. She was a safety net that reined in his sanity and kept it from escaping. Only she seemed to understand and accept his condition. He didn't even accept it the way she did. 

The second voice piped up louder. Thinking about Trinity, her sacrifices, told him the voice to which he should listen. How could he be angry with her? It would only make her job tougher, and increase the chance that she wouldn't be successful. Sure, he suffered, but Trinity was in agony. She had to fight completely contrary forces, duty and love. Not destroying the Matrix meant that the war would continue, which meant that they would probably lose. Destroying it meant he would die. That sucked for him, but in a way, it was a blessing. The few months he had spent alone inside were enough to show him just how merciful a real death might be. But Trinity? She'd be alive, on the outside, alone, knowing she had killed the man she loved. 

No wonder she wasn't sleeping soundly. Pity overtook him. Neo looked at Trinity, asleep in his arms. If only she didn't have to make this choice. He'd do anything to save her the guilt of responsibility. Her strength was superior. Admiration flooded his mind, and he started to blindly kiss her. He kissed her shoulders, her hands, anywhere he could without disturbing her. Despite his precaution, she woke up. A confused smile played on her lips. He ran his thumb over her lips, trying to store every memory. 

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Trinity." Tears welled at the corners of his eyes. She leaned over and tried to wipe them from his eyes. They poured out and down his cheeks. Without escaping his grip, she moved over and kissed the trails the tears made. He wrapped both his arms around her as she held his head to he body. 

"Why? What's wrong?" She stroked his hair and waited for him to speak. 

"I'm sorry for making you do this. I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "Forgive me," he whispered against her shoulder. Trinity could feel each sob pass through his body. This was unexpected. She had come here wanting the same thing: forgiveness. She cradled him and planted a kiss on the top of his head. 

"Only if you forgive me." 

*********************************************************************** 

Part 5: Mission Statements 

"Neo?" Rubbing her eyes to rid them of sleep, Trinity sat up to look for him. He was sitting on the end of the bed facing away from her. She slipped out from underneath the covers and reached out to hug him from behind. He turned slightly to smile at her but turned away again just as quickly. 

"What's the matter?" Why had she said that? She knew exactly what the matter was. Somehow, she had managed to escape reality until this morning. "Sorry, stupid question." 

"No, it's me being stupid, that's all. I shouldn't dwell on this. I guess I should have expected it. I knew you were too good a debater to lose." It was Trinity's turn to look away. He had a point. It was her effective argument that had gotten the shut down pushed ahead by an entire week. If her feelings had been mixed before, they were positively scrambled now. She couldn't refuse the earlier date for the shut down, not if she wanted to still be the one to do it, that much was clear. 

"I'm sor..." 

"Don't say it, Trin. You know I'm not upset by that. I'm not scared or anything." He rubbed her arm and dropped his eyes to the floor again. 

"Liar." That earned her a chuckle from him. It was nice to hear his laugh. "It's okay to be scared, Neo. This is really happening." 

"I know, but that's not what I meant. I'm not afraid of dying, you know that. I guess I'm afraid of what's next...and of being without you." Trinity squeezed his hand tighter. 

"Hey, who knows what lies ahead? If I don't do a good job, I may just be there waiting on you." 

"Don't say that. That is not funny." The punctuation of the word 'not' told her how humorless he was feeling this morning. "I don't want you making any mistakes just so I can have someone there to hold my hand." A smile played across his lips just then. "I'm a big boy now, I can cross the street by myself and everything." Trinity giggled. Maybe his humor wasn't completely dead. 

"Oh yeah? If you're so mature, then why are you still ticklish?" With that, Trinity attacked him from behind, her fingers dancing across his skin. He fell backwards and joined the fight. In only a minute, he had Trinity writhing in pleasurable agony as he won the tickle contest. 

She was so hysterical with laughter that she didn't notice when Neo woke her up. 

*********************************************************************** 

Cairo paced around her apartment. The plan was a success, the others had supported it, and the machines had gotten the package working on the outside. Everything should be perfect. 

Which is to say it wasn't perfect. Cairo had no idea how to talk to Anderson. How could she get his attention so that he'd listen to her, hear her out, and so that he would accept? She had been so certain that he would just automatically agree, but now doubt festered in her mind. Could this human be so stubborn, could his pride and integrity be so great that he wouldn't bow to her wishes? 

"Know thy enemy." Those had been her words to the others at their first meeting. So, what did she know about him? He was a human, he was technically dead, and he hated agents. But, if that latter part were true, why didn't he kill her when he had had the chance? He had erased agents before, but he had left her alone even though he was visibly unnerved by her show of emotion. 

Did she really know him, or did she only think she did? Arrogance on an agent's part had been the start of difficulty in communicating with Neo in the past. How to attract his attention, and once that was done, how to keep it? Cairo picked up her laptop and headed for the door. 

Out on the street, she let her feet take her where they would. She ended up back at the bed and breakfast where she had first observed Neo. The building was dim, but she could tell someone was still there. Opting for tradition, she alighted to the roof across the street to watch. Setting up her computer, she realized that she had left the reconnaissance equipment attached. If she could get a line of sight, she could hear what was going on. 

Cairo looked up at the skyline. It was five-thirty, but the sky was still dark. Inside, she could just barely make out the edges of furniture using her eyes, but the digital camera told her more. There were two people, about a foot away from one another, sitting on one piece of furniture, which she guessed was a bed. One of the figures started to move as she set up the audio scanner. 

"Neo?" A female voice. Trinity's, Cairo recognized. Why hadn't she suspected this sooner? Trinity and Neo spent a lot of time together, late hours, Trinity rarely saw anyone else when she was inside; all of these factors should have revealed their relationship earlier. Cairo cursed her own ignorance. 

"What's the matter?" Trinity again. That meant that Neo was upset? Cairo listened to the banter until it dissolved into information that caught her attention. 

"I know, but that's not what I meant. I'm not afraid of dying, you know that. I guess I'm afraid of what's next...and of being without you." Afraid of dying? He couldn't die, not unless... 

"Oh shit." The humans were planning to strike, and from the sound of it, they would attack soon. Cairo was immersed in that thought, so much so that she missed Trinity's exit. When she realized what had happened, she replayed the sound the scanner had picked up. The jokes, the laughter as they fooled around, all of it. Cairo couldn't lose a creeping feeling. It was an emotion she didn't recognize and didn't know if she had a name for anyway. 

Replaying the recording, she focused on the moment Trinity exited. Right after the signal for the exit occurred, Neo whispered something. It was barely intelligible, but she could have sworn he said... 

"I love you." Cairo's emotion circuits told her what that feeling was like, but she couldn't find any sympathy. Instead, if she had to guess, she'd say it was jealousy. Why was she jealous? This man was a ghost, his girlfriend was going to kill him...what did they have that she didn't and that she wanted? 

Love? She didn't need it to function. Banishing her emotions, she tried to function solely on her logic and creative circuits. Concentrate on getting Neo to go along with the plan. An idea, born thanks to the surveillance of this morning, sounded promising. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Damn him!" Trinity woke up rather irate in the real world. Neo had tricked her; he had cheated her out of a chance to say everything she had wanted to say to him. If she had the opportunity, she was going to strangle him. 

"Oh my God..." that was why he had done it. He had made her leave before they could have gotten serious. In his way, Neo had done her a favor. 

"Now that you've gotten your kicks out of the way, can we go?" Axis. That was the last person she needed to deal with right now, and at the same time, she was the only person Trinity would be working with for the next few hours. That didn't mean she had to make any promises to keep her alive by the end of those few hours. 

"Listen to me, you jackass, because I never repeat myself. We are going after the central computer in less than six hours. I've been told to take you with me, which means that for the next six hours or so, I have to keep you alive. After that, you are on your own, and if you survive, I may just kill you anyway. No witnesses." Menace dripped from Trinity's tone. Startled, Axis backed away slowly at first, and then, once she turned around, she walked out. 

"Um, you may have a problem with that scenario because I am a witness now." Farad purred from behind. 

"I was only being semi-serious," Trinity called over her shoulder. 

"Oh, damn, really? Well what could I offer to make you change your mind? What would it take to make you completely serious?" Farad grinned as she walked over, wiping her hands on a towel. 

"I want everyone present in one hour for a debriefing. Afterwards, I'm going to sit down with Axis, go over our plans, and while I do that, you and Surge fly us to the location I will outline in the debriefing. Understood?" Farad nodded and left to spread the news. Trinity watched her leave, and then she headed for her room. 

The door was shut only a split second before the tears and sobs began. Axis' comment bit through her mind like a chainsaw. Anger had surfaced to disfigure the pain that comment had generated, but now the anger was gone, and reality was sucker-punching her resolve. She had one hour to recover, one hour to reign in her emotions. Neo wasn't mad; he was cheering her on. That was the only way she could think of him if she wanted to be successful. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Hope this works," Cairo prayed and set up her disguise. Neo had just left the building in the direction of the park. She checked out her disguise in the glass of her laptop. Flawless. She left the rooftops and pursued within twenty feet of Neo. 

Neo collapsed onto a park bench, stretched out and leaned his head back. Exhaustion coupled with anxious anticipation had drained him. If these were to be his last hours, he hoped that he'd be too tired to care when Trinity shut down the computer. He closed his eyes and concentrated on regulating his breathing. Trinity was behind his eyelids; all he could see was her. For sanity's sake, he opened them. The last thing he needed was to be driven mad during his last few hours. 

Trinity was standing across the pathway. He rubbed his eyes, half expecting her to disappear, a figment of his exhausted mind. She was still there. Why? He glanced around before cautiously rising from the bench and approaching her. Something must be wrong for her to be here. Ignoring the glazed picture of the Matrix, he scanned Trinity's code. It wasn't Trinity. 

"Hello, Cairo." 

"Very astute of you, Neo. You saw through me. Bravo." Cairo stalked away. This would be the test to see if her lure worked. Sure enough, Neo followed without hesitation. As she passed around one of the trees in the park, she switched off her disguise and reverted to her usual form. 

"I figured I'd get your attention that way, Neo. It worked, didn't it?" 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Neo, if I tell you the truth, you're going to do one of two things. Either you will walk away, or you will erase me." 

"Why don't you tell me what you have to say, and I'll tell you what I will or will not do." Cairo donned a bemused smile. 

"Very well. I'm here to offer you a deal." 

"You were right, I'm going to walk. Been nice talking to you." Cairo seized his arm. 

"Give me five minutes, and I'll change your mind, I guarantee it." Neo wavered for a moment. What would it hurt? He wouldn't be around to enjoy any benefit or suffer any punishment for very long. 

"You've got five minutes." 

*********************************************************************** 

"I'm not wasting any time with this. Here is the plan, start to finish. Axis and I are going into the epicenter of the Matrix. Our first priority is to close all connections out of this center. If the Matrix can not transfer itself, destroying it there will destroy it permanently. If we do not successfully do this, the Matrix will translate itself elsewhere, and our mission will be pointless. To secure the program where it is, Farad, you and Surge will have to run some interference. Nothing aggressive, but enough to restrain the brain to this building," Trinity tapped the blueprint on the table. 

"I have some great viruses I have just been dying to try," Surge smiled. 

"Go for it, just keep the brain busy. If it's distracted, it won't worry about us until we are too close for it to matter. That is your job, Farad. Understood?" 

"Um, Trinity?" 

"Yes, Patch?" 

"I've got some wicked programs that are guaranteed to keep the computers busy for at least ten minutes, plus I can give you triple-secured, password, encryption, and virus protected gates for you to seal the hive mind inside the location." 

"Great, you're with Farad and Surge. That's settled. I'll take the gatekeepers you have, Patch, and any others anyone has. We will need to buy about half an hour's worth of time, giving us ten minutes to set up an erasure and a burn of the mainframe. If within the first fifteen minutes we are not able to erase the entire mainframe, I will institute the backup plan. We will set up and detonate and EMP with a range of one square mile. If after fifteen minutes we are not finished, assume the worst and get the hell out of range. If we're successful with the purge and the EMP does not go off within half an hour, you will wait for me to contact you. Otherwise, you are to assume the worst, return to Zion, and report our mission a failure. Understood?" 

"Sure." They answered in unison. 

"You are dismissed with the following orders. Farad, Surge, you are to pilot the ship, safely and escaping notice, to within a thousand feet of the epicenter. Patch, you and Natalie are to set up and have all the virus programs on standby. Patch, you are also to transfer any and all gatekeeper programs to a portable computer, and you must make sure that it has all portable plugs that we may need." 

"Got it." 

"Dismissed." Everyone filed out except for Axis. "Ready to crack down on this?" 

"Ready." Trinity pulled out the interior maps. 

"I know we both have this on file, but I need this for spatial reference." Axis nodded and leaned in close as Trinity began to run through the plan. "First, penetration. There is an AC duct leading to the outside about fifty feet from the 'ground' that will be our access point. Agreed?" 

"Agreed, continue." 

"We have the equipment to scale the wall, that won't be much of a problem. The trouble may come from frequent passes made by sentinels. I have obtained a silence amplifier to drown out most sounds, but for the most part, we are on our own to observe any and all approaching enemies." 

"Can do. Next?" Trinity traced the corridor that was the path of the duct. 

"This duct goes all the way to the core. From the reconnaissance missions in the past, we know that there is no inside security, but there are sentinels on the outside." 

"Doorjamb, I got one. Impenetrable by laser, I've tested it before. The doors are also invulnerable, as a security measure, but in our case, it's an anti-security measure." 

"Perfect. So now, we're in, and the computer will definitely know we're there, within, I estimate, no less than three minutes. That is not an optimistic estimate, so hopefully, it will be longer than that, but I am not relying on it." 

"So we have three minutes to close all ports out of that room? It's doable. I secured Zion's computer after the destruction in less than that." 

"Excellent. The others will keep the mind busy while we erase. The gates won't last very long once the Matrix is aware of us. The viruses the others run for us will buy more time, but again, a pessimistic estimate gives us only eight minutes using five gatekeepers. We may have more, but I am not relying on anything at this time. You will run the gatekeeper programs after the initial one is set up. I will leave you with that task and set up the erasure. Agreed?" 

"It works. Let's get some rest, huh? We have a busy half hour ahead of us." 

"Yeah, rest, good idea. I'll meet you in another hour to suit up and recover this. Understood?" 

"I'll be here in fifty-nine minutes." 

*********************************************************************** 

"What would you do to live after the Matrix is destroyed, Neo?" 

"What kind of garbage are you trying to sell me?" 

"The truth, I swear. I heard your conversation with Trinity this morning. I'm not stupid, Neo, I know that what you alluded to was the destruction of the mainframe. It's happening soon." 

"If you know that, then you can stop them, and they won't succeed. So why are we talking?" 

"Neo, I am a reserve agent. I am one of the first agent programs ever created. Do you know why my constituents and I are on the reserve file? Because we are not connected to the Matrix mind. That was our failure. Our other benefits were not enough to recommend us, and we were put on hold until the Matrix got desperate. I'm here now, and I am telling you that the outside does not know what I know because I haven't told them yet." 

"Why don't you?" 

"Because I want the opportunity to bargain with you first." 

"This is tired. You can't offer me anything I want." 

"Yes, I can. I told you, I can make sure that you survive even if the Matrix is shut down. I can, and I will, if you are willing to cooperate." Her lure was enticing, and she could see Neo beginning to hope. If he believed her offer... 

"How? I know and you know that isn't possible." 

"It is with this." Cairo pulled her laptop out and opened the outside feed. "This is how, Neo. This is what you want." The live feed opened, and Neo watched, his jaw dropping open progressively wider. 

"Is that...?" 

"Yes, it's the original. I looked for a long time, Neo, and fortunately, for both of us, it wasn't recycled." Neo stared, transfixed, at the screen. "As you can see, it is operational, and I have the sentinels holding it for you." 

"What do you want, Cairo?" Bingo. She had him. 

"Do as I ask of you, Neo, and this will all work out." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Good luck you two." Farad gave them a thumbs up as she shut the door. Trinity looked over to Axis who gave her a confirmatory nod. She was ready. Grappling hook in hand, Trinity crawled along the narrow causeway that led to the epicenter. In five minutes, they were both standing at ground level. It took only four minutes to secure the line and get into the duct, even with three close calls with sentinels. 

"So far so good," Trinity whispered as she offered her hand to pull Axis up the last few feet. Axis nodded again, and then they were off down the duct. It took them only two minutes to reach the core. Once on the floor, Axis sprinted to the door. She secured the doorjambs while Trinity stayed in the duct. She gave Trinity the thumbs up, and Trinity disappeared down the duct, retracing their steps. At the end, once clear of sentinels, she gave a signal to the ship via laser light. They returned the signal. They would start the countdown. 

Axis had three gates up and holding before Trinity had gotten back. 

"They got off about twenty viruses before I even set up. The Matrix is trying to decode and erase them as we speak. All three gates I have so far are holding. It hasn't noticed them yet. Should I set up more while it's distracted?" 

"Hell yes, set up everything we've got save for about five programs we may need later in case it starts to notice. How do Patch's gatekeepers look?" 

"They're the best I've ever seen. I couldn't begin to tell you how good. I fooled around with them before we left, and after twenty minutes, I still hadn't gotten past the first encryption. Where'd you find this kid?" 

"Another product of the system. Guess the Matrix is good for something after all. Toss me the erasure programs, the magnets, and the EMP." Axis nodded and rooted through her bag to find those items while Trinity pulled out her portable. A whistle from Axis caught her attention, and she turned to catch the items. She attached the magnets to several cables. They would disrupt the current in the cables by interfering with the magnetic field the current-carrying wires made. 

That done, Trinity returned to her portable and attached all the cables she could to the mainframe. The Matrix code poured onto her monitor. 

"Time to clean the slate." She punched the buttons to initiate the erase programs. There were only three hundred programs. Once the Matrix realized that it was being deleted, it would drop all attacks on the viruses and go after the erasure programs. Trinity had to hope that the virus programs would distort and distract the Matrix to keep it occupied for long enough. 

"How are the gates doing?" 

"The computer is running around like a blind man with a head cold. It hasn't touched any of my gates yet, but the viruses aren't lasting too long once they're started. It'll find out it can't transfer soon...especially once it realizes you are trying to delete it." Trinity started laughing, and eventually Axis had to look up to see what was so funny. "What?" 

"Trying to delete it? Trying to delete it, she says!" 

"What? What did I say?" 

"I am not trying, Axis. I am succeeding! I just deleted Australia." 

*********************************************************************** 

Part 6: Final Solutions 

Traitor. Traitor. Traitor, traitor, traitor. TRAITOR! Neo's own conscience berated him as the words slipped from his mouth. He had asked Cairo what she wanted without asking the price of this boon. He tried to soothe the harsh voice, but nothing he told himself would silence it. 

I am not going to accept her deal no matter what she has to offer. I am only doing this to buy the others time to shut down the system. He repeated those thoughts over and over to calm his zealous conscience. 

Cairo could have cared less about what this human suffered. Suffering was what humans used to measure their struggle; the harder the victory was to achieve, the more worthwhile it was. She kept the tape from the outside running to keep Neo interested as she outlined the terms of their agreement. 

"It's is perfect working condition, Neo. I had it kept this way until I was sure you would accept. If you had refused, well, it wouldn't have been the end of our attempts to destroy you, but this would most certainly have been trashed and recycled." 

"No kidding." Neo tried to sound noncommittal. Cairo's phone rang and she had no time to continue her lecture. 

"Cairo." 

"We have a serious problem. They're in the core." Neo could tell by the widening of Cairo's eyes that she was receiving bad news. 

"Damage report?" 

"They deleted our entire Australia file. That is millions gone, Cai. We've lost at least two entire sectors. Our power supply has been switched onto the reserves, but those won't last." 

"They just deleted it? How come we didn't see this coming?" Cairo started to pace. Neo said a quick prayer of thanksgiving; if Trinity was already working on deleting the Matrix, there would be no time for him to either accept or deny Cairo's offer. This choice would not be forced upon him after all. 

"I want to shift to the monitor in the core, now. I have Neo with me, and I think I speak correctly when I say he's willing to deal," Cairo looked over to Neo. He couldn't help it; he nodded. I am not agreeing to this, he thought over again, I am still buying time. 

"I'll have you transferred there immediately. Stop them at all costs, Cai." 

"Will do." Cairo closed the phone. She looked at Neo. Triumph played across her features. "Well, are we ready to talk to your friends now, Neo?" 

"Is this part of the deal?" 

"Absolutely. You talk them out of shutting it down using any means necessary, and I will give you what you want." Neo closed his eyes, squeezing them tighter to block out the cries of protest from his conscience. 

"Agreed, but you have to talk to them first." Cairo smiled. Predictable human frailty, she thought, he doesn't want them to think he tricked them. Oh well, it would have to do. 

"Perhaps that can be arranged. Is Trinity there? I know you know, Neo." 

"She's there." Cairo's grin spread farther across her face. Trinity would roll over and go along when she saw what they offered in return. The damage to the system may have been done, but nothing was permanently gone, provided the system remained partly there, it could regenerate. 

"Very well then, I think we have a deal." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Okay, it's on to us. Gatekeeper one is under fire." Trinity turned to look at Axis' monitors. The gate was holding for the moment, and behind it, three more gates were waiting. Her own monitor showed the crew was still barraging the Matrix with virus programs. The Matrix hadn't transferred its memory out, that much was certain at least. 

"It's okay, I've chained several large memory files together. As soon as I finished setting them up, I'll delete them. It's easier that way." 

"Good, but I'm still going to put up a few more gates, okay?" 

"Do it." Trinity typed furiously on her keyboard. The Matrix was a complex system, but it was still just a computer. Computers were very vulnerable, she knew that only too well. Another file attached to her chain of soon-to-be-deleted files. This was too easy. Even the pounding of the sentinels against the door couldn't distract her. They were going to succeed. 

"Hello, Trinity." 

*********************************************************************** 

"Why haven't they come out yet? It's been ten minutes." Surge paced behind his sister. 

"I was told to give them five more minutes before we leave. If the EMP doesn't go off in another twenty minutes, we assume the worst and hightail it. Until then, we wait the five more minutes, then get out of range. We are seeing this through. Trinity asked for half an hour, and we're giving it to her." Natalie and Patch abandoned their posts at the monitors to join the others in the front of the ship. 

"How are the viruses?" 

"Good, they're running on autopilot, but I'll take over in a minute. I just wanted to see out with the rest of you." Patch leaned forward in the window. Natalie remained frozen where she stood. Farad saw her from the corner of her eye. 

"Nat, you all right?" 

"This is where they choose." 

"Choose?" Farad, Surge and Patch all managed to say together. They stared at Nat. 

"There is a way to win. Victory in total. I hope he sees it." Natalie smiled sheepishly. 

"Who? Neo?" Patch placed a hand on Nat's shoulder. "Well, tell us already!" 

"I can't do that. I don't know the future. All I know is there are three paths at this point. Victory, victory with one casualty, and ruin. If he's as smart as he should be, we'll achieve victory." 

"Nat, what is going on?" Farad crossed her arms and gave her best 'mothering' look. 

"They are deciding that right now." 

*********************************************************************** 

Trinity froze. Someone had just called her name. Who? A glance at Axis revealed that she was just as surprised. It hadn't been Axis. Who had it been? Who else was there? 

"Over here, Trinity. Say hello, Neo, and she'll respond." Any movement that she might have been able to make became impossible with that one word. Neo? It nearly broke her to move, but she had to see what was going on. The monitor, perhaps? It was still connected to the Matrix. If Neo were here...impossible, he had said he accepted this. 

"Trin? It's me. Look up, Trin." Neo. It was Neo. Trinity did as he ordered. Her eyes drifted upwards to the monitor. 

It was black with the familiar green code running all over the background. Two figures stood out from the darkness. Or rather one did. A woman dressed in blue leather stood in the foreground, but Trinity could barely make out Neo's pale face; his black clothing melted into the background. 

"Neo? What the hell?" Axis hadn't moved. Her mind raced around the situation. Trinity was a weak point all of a sudden. If this woman had any ideas about using Trinity's relationship with Neo...the mission was history. 

"I will do the talking, it seems, Trinity. That's part of the arrangement. I am Cairo." Cairo purred, her feral grin causing shudders to run along Trinity's spine. Gathering her resolve, Trinity forced all her shock away and poured venom into her voice. 

"There is no arrangement, agent bitch. You're history, and you know it. This is the most pathetic last-ditch effort to which I've ever been exposed. If you have anything you want to say, last words or such, tell them to someone who cares." Trinity turned away and returned to setting up the shut down. 

"You'll want to hear what I have to say, Trinity. It concerns this little project of yours." Trinity bristled slightly, but she refused to give any other outward signs that Cairo had bothered her. 

"Blab your head off. If you want to waste your time, I don't give a shit." 

"I very much doubt that. I'm betting that you will be most interested in what I have to say." Cairo paused and looked at Neo. He was holding, so she figured he'd go along. "That's why Neo is here. It concerns the two of you. I know that this is a hard thing for you to do, Trinity, seeing as he will die too. I can help," Cairo taunted. 

"I...don't think so," Trinity stammered. Cairo couldn't possibly be offering her another way. There wasn't one...or was there? 

"Sure you don't. Trinity, look at me." Trinity kept her eyes glued to her laptop. "Now!" Her head snapped up. Cairo punched in a number into her cell phone. Suddenly, she and Neo disappeared. A delay screen came up, but Cairo's voice continued to tease from off-screen. 

"This is how I can help you and Neo, Trinity. Provided of course, you agree to stop what you are doing." Morbid curiosity held Trinity's eyes to the black screen, watching the numbers click down. 

"You can't do anything." 15...14...13...12...11... 

"Just wait for it, Trinity. You have to see it to believe it. Neo did too, if that makes any difference." 

10...9...8...7...6... 

"See what?" 

5...4...3... 

"It's like the Matrix, Trinity. You have to see it for yourself." 

2...1...0...INITIATING FEED... 

The digital feed spanned the whole screen. Trinity's breath caught in her throat. 

It was Neo's body. It was alive...he was alive. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Cairo had better make this work. We haven't had any luck cracking though even one of their security measures. They're too good." Albany paced circles around Juneau. 

"The bait is better, trust me. You know it is." 

"And what if we're wrong? These humans are too unpredictable." Paris muttered from his seat. "This isn't going to work." 

"What do you mean?" 

"This guy's slipped through better traps, and he's refused offers that were just as good." 

"No offer is as good as this one." 

"And if he refuses?" 

"He can't. Otherwise," Juneau dropped her head. Despair was an emotion she wished she didn't have. "Otherwise, we'll be deleted right along with the rest of the world." 

*********************************************************************** 

"I take it your silence means you understand what I'm offering, Trinity." The screen shrunk down from the top, and Cairo leaned over. She playfully stroked the image. "I just knew you couldn't resist this face, Trinity. Hell, not even Neo could resist." Cairo laughed maliciously. "Maybe we can get down to business now? Or perhaps you would rather Neo explained it to you?" 

Trinity didn't answer. Axis stared at her. This was Trinity's only weakness, as Axis saw it. The agents had picked the most sensitive wound in Trinity's mind and probed it until they had the ultimate trap. Trinity was a liability now. She would compromise this whole mission for Neo, Axis was sure of it. She had even planned for it. That was the reason for the stun gun in her pocket. If Trinity agreed, Axis would immobilize her before she could act on any plan. 

*********************************************************************** 

"What do you see, Nat? Anything?" Farad held Natalie by her shoulders. Natalie had her eyes closed. Her mind drifted farther away as Surge moved the ship out of range. 

"No! Axis mustn't! She'll ruin everything!" Natalie opened her eyes. They were glazed over, but fear traipsed across the pupils. Patch looked away from her consul for a moment, but she had to return to keep the viruses from eating at the delete process. 

"What? What is she doing?" Farad shook Natalie slightly. Natalie turned and focused her eyes on Farad. 

"We have to go back." Farad nodded. There was no time to doubt Natalie's intuition. Axis was a pain, which made believing she would be responsible for wrecking the mission much easier for Farad. She ordered Surge to turn around. 

They'd be at the drop off point at the epicenter in a few minutes. Trinity's orders be damned. 

*********************************************************************** 

"How...how is this possible?" Trinity gaped at the screen. She desperately wanted to see Neo's face. How could he possibly agree to work with these agents? He had to be under coercion or something. 

"Well, as it turns out, luckily for all of us, that the sentinels never recycled his body. The others were gone, but I guess they held onto Neo when they discovered his RSI was still in the system. I'd call it fate...if I were human." Cairo laughed again. She closed the feed, and the screen returned to showing her and Neo. Neo didn't look out; he couldn't face Trinity. She would be wondering why he had gone along with this. There was no way to lie to himself anymore. He wasn't here to stall the agents; the only person he was stalling was Trinity. 

"Neo, you didn't, did you?" Neo raised his gaze to look out. It was an odd feeling, peering out from a computer at the woman he loved. Incredulity, wonder, and anger were displayed all over her face. She wanted an answer he couldn't give her yet. 

"Oh, Trinity, he's only human," Cairo collapsed into more giggles. "After all, if you were him, wouldn't you have done the same thing?" Trinity suppressed her rage and glared at Cairo. If she were going to be angry with anyone, Cairo was the most deserving candidate. 

"I don't care, Cairo. Do you hear me? I don't care what deal you made with Neo. I never made any deals." Trinity returned to her computer. The chain reaction was set. One deletion would erase everything attached to the Matrix. That included the AI outside of the Matrix, the sentinels, the reapers, and the human beings attached to the AI's fraudulent world. A smile twitched on Neo's lips. There might be a way to escape this without selling his soul to this computer demon. 

"Good for you, Trin. There isn't any way out for me. This is all bullshit. Do it. Get rid of this bitch." Cairo whirled around, her face red with fury. 

"You bastard! We had a deal! I get you out, and you stop her! There is no way out for you, Neo, except for this one!" Cairo's screeching filled the core. Axis froze while reaching for her weapon. Trinity watched in mute horror. Had Neo really been playing Cairo this whole time? It made sense. Fooling this agent had enabled her to set up the erase function. One click and the Matrix was history. 

"You lied to me, Cairo. I know there is no way out. Besides, that thing isn't even real. It's not me. My body is dead. If that body were mine, there would be no way to keep it alive." Neo crossed his arms and stared down at the furious Cairo. 

"You idiot! Do you know who I am!?! I am an agent, you asshole! I can create any program! I created the one that is keeping your body...you...alive!!!" Neo fought to keep a frown on his face. It wasn't easy. He had never felt so happy. There was hope after all. 

"Right, a program that breathes for me, makes my heart beat, and all that? What kind of moron do you take me for? How could you possibly work that out? It's outside, and you, last time I checked, are stuck in here even more permanently than I am." Trinity glanced back and forth from Neo to Cairo. What the hell was Neo talking about? He had to have some kind of plan. 

"You are a moron! Of course my program does what I said it does! You are a grade-A loser, Neo!!! You are too simple to be worth saving! I'm sorry I ever even had them hook up your body! I should have left it to rot!" 

"What the hell? You did what to my body?" Neo dropped his arms to his sides in a clearly threatening stance. 

"I hooked it up to my program via axial line. How else could I bring your body into the Matrix so I could work on it? You are hooked to the program on my laptop, you shithead! I have your body right here!" Cairo waved her minicomputer in his face. Trinity gasped slightly. If Neo did have any chance to get out, it was on that computer. His body was connected to the Matrix by a thread, and, right now, Cairo held the scissors poised to clip that thread. 

"I'm through with you, Cairo. You talk to Trinity." Neo turned his back to Trinity. Cairo whirled to face out of the screen again. 

"So what? He's not into it, Trinity. That doesn't mean we can't work something out. I know you want him on the outside just as much as he does. Just because he's being difficult doesn't mean you have to be." 

Axis sat poised to lunge at Trinity. Neo had refused any chance at a life, but this Cairo was quite correct: Trinity hadn't. Axis had just worked up the nerve to jump Trinity when she heard a scratching noise above her head. 

"Hey scum bag! Heads up!" Patch leaped from the AC duct and landed squarely on Axis. Trinity whipped her head around to see Patch give her the thumbs up before she zapped Axis with the stun gun. 

"Patch?" 

"Nat said this piece of garbage would screw things up. They dropped me off and left. So, don't get too mad at Farad, okay? They're gone, I promise. Nat said to make this decision on your own." Patch rolled off of the unconscious Axis. 

"Well, now that we've settled that, what do you say, Trinity? I promise, I will transfer Neo to his body, whether he likes it or not," Cairo opened her minicomputer, and opened the program attached to Neo's body. She held it at angle that was facing Trinity, but Neo could see it too. Trinity could see the program running, keeping track of Neo's breathing and heartbeats per minute. Trinity looked past Cairo at Neo. He was staring intently at the program. 

That instant, Trinity knew his plan. So he did have an ulterior motive. A grin spread across Trinity's face. Cairo saw the look and misinterpreted it. 

"Is that a 'yes', Trinity?" 

"No, that is a 'no'," Trinity growled, never losing her smile. Cairo sneered. 

"Do you hear that, Neo? She doesn't want to save you. What do you think of that? Neo? I said what do you..." Cairo's words died on her lips. Neo had left the core. She was all alone. Her eyes bulged with recognition and fear. She spun around to face Trinity. 

"Goodbye, Cairo." Click. 

*********************************************************************** 

"Farad? This is Patch. We're setting the EMP now. We'll set the timer for ten minutes. Trinity says you have five minutes to get your asses back here and pick us up." 

Farad laughed into the mike before answering. 

"Yeah, yeah. Is that two or three people we're picking up?" Patch laughed. 

"Two conscious, but three total. See you in five." Farad dropped the receiver and did a one-eighty with the ship. Natalie, clinging to Surge's seat, whispered to herself at Farad's side. 

"He did it. He picked the right path. I knew he would." Farad listened quietly to what Natalie was saying. She leaned over slightly and whispered back to Natalie. 

"I thought you said you couldn't see the future." Natalie giggled and gave Farad a toothy grin. 

"Well, maybe just a little bit." 

*********************************************************************** 

EPILOG 

The report was complete. Axis stretched and relaxed against the back of her chair. Next time she was told to go on a mission, she'd have to pass. Especially if it were with a certain captain... 

"Axis?" Axis looked up to see Ophelia stroll slowly into the room. Leaving her chair, Axis jumped up to offer her arm to Ophelia and to help her sit in the other chair at the desk. Ophelia took the arm graciously and sat. 

"I just finished the report. You didn't have to come get it. I would have brought it to you." 

"No, I wanted to get your version, my dear, not the official one." Axis rolled her eyes and collapsed back into her chair. 

"Where do I even begin?" Ophelia smiled. 

"How about with the beginning. It's the traditional outset for most stories." 

*********************************************************************** 

Trinity stirred. It was too early for anyone to be up, but she listened for noises anyway. For some reason, she couldn't quite figure out where she was this morning. Maybe it had to do with her dreams from the night before. 

What a night that had been, she groaned inwardly. If anything could be crazier than reality, it was the subconscious mind. Her mind drifted back over the dreams she remembered only too vividly. 

*** "Neo, no one has ever done anything like this." She looked at Neo as he checked the weapon in his hand. She had never seen him dressed like this. He appeared to be in ready order to kick some ass. The trenchcoat suited him. Fighting the blush that came with that thought, she waited for him to answer. 

"That's why it's going to work."*** 

That had been an interesting little tidbit indeed, Trinity mused. Neo had looked fabulous. Like it was possible for him not to, she rolled her eyes. 

***They were in the building now. How they were going to pull this one off was beyond her, but Neo had seemed so sure. Arrogance was probably a big part of it, but his arrogance was infectious. They wiped out the guards in record time and headed for the elevator. 

The case was all set, and all she had to do was set the timer. Neo worked on setting up their escape while she finished. He pulled her through the hatch. She watched him clip on the harness to the cables and waited for him to shoot the first cable off. They leaned together and held onto one another. 

"There is no spoon."*** 

That dream had spooked her even more. It gave her a shiver of, excluding the pun, déjà vu. She had felt that ghosting feeling once before in the subway entrance she had made to visit Neo for the first time after being freed...again. These dreams were so real; they were as real as the dream-memories she had had all those months ago while she lived as Cypher's wife. But these dreams weren't memories. They couldn't be. She didn't remember them, but everything else she could remember clearly. Her memory wasn't at fault. But what was it then? 

More experiences from another life, I guess, she thought softly. Not that she wanted this other life. In this life, she was a fighter, Cypher was nowhere to be found, some of her friends were still there, and Neo was still unsure about his powers. This other life seemed to be the best of all possible worlds. 

What was better about her life? She had been responsible for the deaths of billions only a week ago. Billions of people dead when she clicked that button. And yet, she had helped destroy the machines, giving the outside population a sense of security it had never known. Shutting down the Matrix had caused her conscience no end of stalemates with itself. The shut down never seemed completely good or completely evil. 

Aside from that, what did she have? Her friends had been murdered by a snake in the grass who, in turn, used her as his love object. That violation had been the worst. Her memories taken away so she could be Cypher's perk. It made her hesitation to let Neo kill him seem much more strange in retrospect. 

Neo? How did Neo fare in this other life that taunted her? He seemed unsure of himself but determined at the same time. He was obviously alive, if she could believe the feeling the visions gave her. Apparently, he hadn't ever died in that world. 

So what was it that made her shy away from this other life? She rolled over slightly and snuggled against the exact thing that made this life so worth living. 

Neo smiled back at her. 

THE END 


End file.
